Don't Trust Your Own Strength

DON’T TRUST YOUR OWN STRENGTH

One of the things that usually happens when we rely on our abilities and experience more than God’s opinion, is that He will allow us to go about our business. Alone. That is probably one of the worst things that can happen to you. 

In my personal life I found God to be patient, even though I wasn’t always making the right decisions. Sometimes I would say, “I know for sure this is the school where I need to go because I heard it’s the best out there for what I’m trying to do,” but later I would realize I don’t even like that school I wanted so bad. All because I chose to trust my own thinking, rather than seeking God first. If we are to become everything God created us to be, we need to start relying on God’s opinion before all else, especially our own judgement. 

Let’s look inside a story from Scripture. Israel went to conquer the city of Ai, a small town, with a small army, this should have been an easy win for them. Here is what happened: “They returned to Joshua and reported, don’t bother sending a lot of people—two or three thousand men are enough to defeat Ai. Don't wear out the whole army; there aren't that many people there. So three thousand men went up—and then fled in defeat before the men of Ai! The men of Ai killed thirty-six—chased them from the city gate as far as the Quarries, killing them at the descent. The heart of the people sank, all spirit knocked out of them.” Forsaking God’s will and relying more on their strength had tremendous negative consequences for the people of Israel. All of that could have been avoided, had they bothered to seek God and find out someone had sinned in their midst, which was why they were defeated by this small city’s army.  

King David said it so well, “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure” - 2 Samuel 22:33. He said this when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, who was out to kill him. 

Not trusting on your own strength seems to go hand in hand with being completely dependent upon the grace of God. In Psalm 84 we see that, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage... They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” Pilgrimage here refers to the man whose heart is set on things above, whose focus is God and his ways, rather than his own strength. 

What are some reasons why sometimes we listen more to our own judgement rather than to God? Feel free to comment. 

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