WHY IT IS HARD TO RESPOND TO GOD BY FAITH!

WHY IT IS HARD TO RESPOND TO GOD BY FAITH!

           Many of us struggle with issues just beneath the surface. There is disquiet and an unrest that is not immediately visible as we go about our daily activities. Listen to what Paul says.

2 Cor 7:5

5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.

           We are complex creatures made of many parts and our history and circumstances have made us who we are. Let’s explore a few of the reasons why it is so hard for us to respond to God by faith.

1. Wounded Hearts

           Many of us reach adulthood with deep wounds. These help to form our opinions and establish the parameters of our faith by building walls of fear. We must present our wounds to the great healer or we will not be able to properly respond to a God who requires faith.

Job 5:17-18

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

2. Divided Minds

           We claim to trust God until Jesus asks to take a risk. We feel that we might suffer some loss as a result and so we pull back. When our faith is put to the test we many times demonstrate that we believe God can’t be trusted.

James 1:8

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Heb 10:38

38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

3. Paralysis of the Will

           The inability to choose to follow God results from a long history of inaction. The person who can’t make up his mind won’t make up his mind. He will ultimately be frozen in the face of great danger and become a victim of his own refusal to act.

1 Kings 18:21

21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

4. An Overloaded Soul

We are exposed to too much information. We are lost in a sea of meaningless noise which should help us to make decisions but the result is just the opposite. We lack the wisdom to filter the information and so the information becomes useless. What we need are quietness, meditation and rest. God seldom shouts. We hear Him in a still small voice or we don’t hear him at all.

Isa 32:17

17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

Isa 30:21

21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Dear Lord, I am caught up in the vortex of indecision. I need to hear your voice and to know your way. AMEN