The Central Moment

When we lose a sense of the sovereignty of God, we put too much pressure on ourselves and try too hard to make things happen in our own strength. It’s one thing to live responsibly, but quite another to live as if God is not there.

Every God-alternative in our lives has the potential of eventually victimizing us. Needless pain, confusion, and grief will flow out of trying to accomplish God’s plan our way.

Sometimes the cover-up is as bad as the wrong deed itself. We see it in politics, in corporate life, in our families and even the church. “What a wicked web we weave, when at first we do deceive!”

Trust God or take things into your own hands? Follow Christ with confidence in his promises or manipulate situations and people to get your way? The pathway you choose will make all the difference.

God does not always play to our expectations or conform to our norms. He is also the God of the unexpected and the unexplainable. So how do we follow him?

Have you ever suffered for following Jesus? Have you lost friends, jobs, or even your safety for staying faithful to him? If so, your faith has been tested and God has been glorified!

Testings often precede blessings. Why? Because God is always looking first for what is in our hearts. God’s testings shake us down in order to build us up.

God revealed himself to Abraham as Jehovah-Jireh, our God who provides. He did not let Abraham make the kind of sacrifice that he reserved for himself to make, but his provision can change our lives.

Faith and obedience cannot be separated. If the Holy Spirit is to work through us with power, then faith-inspired obedience and obedience-centered faith will need to mark our lives.

How might God be testing your faith right now? That testing is always for a purpose, even though it is rarely pleasant. God knows exactly what he is preparing us for next!