Do you remember our #CornerstoneVerseOfTheDay on Obedience, and how man is the only disobedient creature on this earth? On that same note again I was talking to Sheri about how when working with horses we, man, are the one thing that needs to change. If the horse has the mental and physical capabilities to do what is being asked then there is no reason for them to not be able to do it, other than us.
The same applies to our relationship with God. He is perfect (Matthew 5:8) and so to have a relationship with Him we must change. When riding horses I always preach that 99% of the time it is the rider's fault. Well, 100% of the time, when it comes to the Lord we are at fault. What does that mean for us?
It means that we must recognize our sinful state (Matthew 5:3), and we must weep over our sin (Matthew 5:4). After we have done that we have a right heart to approach the Lord for His forgiveness. Until we understand the depravity of our sinful state we are not ready to accept His forgiveness for our sin. Go back to our post: The Lord's Healing.
How do we get there? Through prayer, first by the prayers of those around us, and as soon as we start seeing even just a sliver of light, through our own prayers. The best example of this is found in Mark 9:14-29 when the father of the boy possessed by a demon brought him to Jesus and said, "If you are able, help him!" "If? If I am able? Don't you believe that I can?" Jesus responded.
"I believe, help me with my unbelief!" the father replied.
Just because we have doubts about things that we cannot understand, does not mean that the Lord is a God we cannot believe in, rely on, trust in, and cling to. In fact it is quite the opposite. Just as we ask our horses to trust us in situations, even though they don't understand us, our ways, or where we are going, the Lord also asks us to trust in Him. We must first and foremost acknowledge the sin keeping us from the Lord.
Funny thing about acknowledging sin, we don't want to do that. A pastor I was listening to made the comment that when we are confronted with sin, wrongdoing, we always point our fingers to someone or something else. That has been going on from the beginning. When God confronted Adam with his sin, Adam immediately blamed Eve and then God Himself. That's takes guts!
"That woman you gave me gave me the fruit to eat." replied Adam. (Genesis 3:12)
And in the same fashion, Eve blamed the serpent, "It was the serpent who tricked me." (Genesis 3:13)
How often do we do that? Blame someone else for our disobedience. That is our natural reaction, to always shift the blame, to make ourselves look justified in our actions. The truth is, no one can justify us other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. He paid the penalty for our sin, for our wrongdoing. All we have to do is acknowledge our sinful state and accept His salvation. Have you done that? Don't think you don't need a savior, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Comments