Walk in Wisdom – Gleanings from Scripture

Psalm 50.14  Offer to God a sacrifice of
thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most
High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I
will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Thankfulness, Faithfulness and - Humble
dependence upon Him. In these three things
God says we - glorify - Him. Imagine that,
God Himself giving us a very simple, three part
means whereby we can know we are glorifying Him.
But not in the ways we ordinarily think. God is
glorified when His children begin to recognize
how much He DOES do, and what He HAS done and we
are thankful. God is glorified when we are seen as
a faithful people - because people are faithful,
loyal - most often when the one they are loyal to
is truly deserving of such loyalty. And lastly,
God is glorified when we live in humble dependence
upon Him. When we actually TRUST Him in life's
trials, griefs, disappointments, fears, heartaches,
anxieties and perplexities. Many imagine that
Christians shouldn't even have these things. That
to admit them detracts from God's glory. But it
isn't true! The World needs to see that we endure
the very same things they do, but that we have a
hope that is steadfast and sure. We have a calm
in the midst of our storms. An assurance when
everything collapses around our ears. An anchor no
matter how rough it gets. Peace in the middle of
the chaos - not exemption from it. But if you and
I would have that peace, live in God's assurance,
stand fast on His foundation, rest in His
providence, it will take humility. Humility? Yep,
humility. A willingness to let go of the reigns,
and trust someone else to meet our needs, when we
want control. Our native, Adamic arrogance leads
us to want to be strong enough, bright, clever
and resourceful enough to deal with everything
ourselves. Or at the most, just get a hand to
help out. But He is not satisfied with such
independence. It relegates Him to the station of
the Fireman. Call Him in emergencies but otherwise
- depend upon yourself. Of course, the truth is
you cannot sustain yourself for even the slightest
moment in any way. He is the One giving you breath.
He is keeping your heart beating and your brain
functioning. You in fact are absolutely dependent
upon Him every moment of every day for everything.
What He desires, is that you begin to live like
it. So that in your calling upon Him in all
things - He is acknowledged by His own, for who
and what He is. In other words, He is glorified.
And the place where this is most exercised is?
Yeah, prayer. Lack of prayer is the single most
arrogant thing we do. It says to Him we can get
along fine - until. And that dear friend, is a
lie.