Colossians 1:19-10 "And so, from this day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all tol wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God..."
Whenever I counsel someone from God's Word, it is almost inevitable that the person says, "Ok, I'll give it my best." That usually means they are still misunderstanding their responsibility. While yes, there are choices to be made, they think it is in their power to achieve the end goal. They think they are prisoners to their emotions. They believe they must pull themselves up by their bootstraps. They are going it alone, walking in their own power.
The above scripture instructs us to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord..." which Jesus expects. Luke 6:46 "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I say?" We are not only expected to be obedient but there is so much more. We are empowered to obey. There is a myriad of scriptures touting the work of God's power (Spirit) in his children, Luke 11:13, Matthew 3:11, Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32, Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 1:13-14, Romans 8:14-17, and there are many more. Paul wanted out of a "thorn in his side." It may have been a physical malady or someone attempting to thwart his work. The debate rages, not too much, but there is continued debate. God told him it was not going anywhere. God continued, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power (Spirit) is made perfect in weakness."
God's children do not need to leave the presence of His Word feeling overwhelmed in choosing to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord." Any of us who feel overwhelmed have two things we must identify.
1- what do we love about the thing contrary to obedience?
2- what am I ignorant about what God is instructing?
Usually, the first question is where most of our wrestling occurs. We, more than often, love the thing, feelings of what God's Word instructs against. We want to hold on to our anger, hurt, and frustrations til they turn to sin, forgetting that obedience gives us the power over those emotions and eventually sin. Not because our bootstraps were pulled up, but because God's power came in with the sufficiency to offer us success.
Here is how to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord..."
1 - Knowing God's Word, so you know what he commands. In this, you are given a powerful tool that demands usage. Usage is obedience.
2 - Knowing other solid believers who can counsel according to his Word, not opinions or experiences. Remember, others may have similar experiences, but if they counsel you with those, it is easy to believe God will do the exact same things in one life that he did in another. He may want a completely different outcome in each life for his glory. That can leave us feeling discouraged. His Word is the only true counsel, not others' experiences. Those may give insight into what God can do. Others' experiences don't tell us what God will do. Hoping in God is the only true place of comfort and power.
3 - Choosing God's Word over feelings or desires. Feelings often change and sometimes in a moment. God has blessed us with this special alarm system called our emotions, to examine ourselves in whatever situation. Feelings are not meant to control us or be the impetus for our choices. Emotions allow for empathy, sympathy, and tolerance, but never for us to normalize sin.
a) when we agree with God against our emotions, the emotions may not subside immediately. To continue with God is to walk by faith, not sight or feelings. God's grace is promised to come in and be power in our weakness. That is what we are trusting God for.
b) when we agree with God and obey no matter what our flesh prefers, our desire may not subside immediately. To continue with God is to walk by faith, not by our desires or lust. We are told to flee youthful lust. There are things God calls us to do. When we do those things, we are still not trying. We are obeying. Lusting and desiring what is unpure before God always leads to sin, and sin leads to death. As we walk in obedience to God against whatever our lust desires will bring in God's grace. We will experience his power in our weakness.
Here's the problem, we want immediate relief. For some, the relief is immediate. When it is, we should worship. For others, it will be a process of choosing to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord" until he gives us relief. That relief can be wrestling with this situation repeatedly, learning how to give it to God over and over. I promise relief comes in some form because God's Word says it when Paul wanted out of what God did not take away. Paul's response, having to live with his "thorn"? "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness" 2 Corinthians 11:30. Instead of luxuriating in his struggle, he "fixed his eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfector of his faith." He hoped for what God was doing, not taking away his "thorn" but giving him the power to live with it for the glory of God.
In conclusion, "walking in a manner worthy of the Lord" is expected if we call Jesus Lord. It is seen successfully done by examples all over his Word. We must be disabused that biblical characters were supernatural. They were men and women with natures just like ours. Those who struggled chose not to obey and surrender. They chose their emotions or lust. Those both led to sin and sin to death.
Those we honor as heroes of the faith is not because they pulled themselves us by their bootstraps and kept on trying in their power or other authentic living practices. They surrendered! They trusted that God's power (Spirit) was present as promised in their weakness. They "walked in a manner worthy of the Lord."
For those willing to obey, the promise of God's power (Spirit) in our weakness is available. I don't care what we have been through or are going through; God is there. I am not discounting the pain we may be experiencing. That is real but does not need to rule over us. We can choose the freedom that comes from "walking in a manner worthy of the Lord."
How does that look? We begin to boast about God's saving, caring, comforting, powerful, promised Spirit we know is with us to "walk in the manner worthy" of being able to call Jesus, "Lord, Lord," as we do what he commanded.
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