SHIFT 08 - Devotional 5: Fully Rely On God
Devotionals
?I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.?
John 15:5 NIV
You can do it. You really, really can. (Do I sound a little like Zig Ziglar?)
It?s not too difficult. It?s not too complicated. It?s not just for certain people. This is for all whose lives have been touched by God. You can be a person-fisher! You can offer freedom and purpose and hope. You can be used to draw others into the kind of relationship into which God has drawn you.
Think about it from God?s perspective. He has picked you for his team. His vision for you was that you would become an expert at fishing for others. Toward this end he has empowered you. So all that?s left for you to do is serve like the Samaritan, be with others in a way that you are true to yourself, and invite them. Now I know this takes time and energy and you have to be on your toes spiritually, but you can do it!
Seriously, you can! It doesn?t matter how busy you are, or how shy you are, or how awkward you think you are. You can still be used in the most life-giving way imaginable. You can be used to draw other people into a relationship with God.
After all, God does all the heavy lifting in the people fishing process. Listen to what Jesus told his disciples about what part God would play in this drama.
5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. {John 16:5-11 NIV}
?Counselor? is Jesus? term for the Holy Spirit. We can?t pretend to completely understand this, but this is a clear reference to the Trinitarian nature of God. When Jesus departs, he tells them, the Holy Spirit will come in a new way. And what will he do?
That?s easy! Think about what he?s done for you. (See verses 8-11 above.) He has shown you that you are a mess and as a result you have really messed up. In other words, you are guilty of sin. He has also shown you that there is a right way to be connected to God and it involves what Jesus has done for us. Even though we do not see him, we believe his work on our behalf. Jesus calls this ?righteousness.? And the Holy Spirit has also convinced you that there is more to this world than just what our senses can perceive. There is a spiritual reality. And one day, after we die, we will have to give account for how we have lived. In that reality, the devil is already condemned, but it does not have to be so for us.
This is what the Holy Spirit has shown to you. Even right now he is showing others the same thing. He?s doing all the heavy lifting. He is waiting for you and me to say, ?Hey, he showed me that same thing. Here?s how ? and here?s what I?ve done.? That?s it.
You can do it! You can be a people fisher. But to do so you will have to fully rely on God. Actually, I should say you get to fully rely on God. He has already done the hard work. We just open our hands and open our mouths and follow His lead.
TO THINK ABOUT:
- In these thoughts, I have tried to reflect on the fact that God does the real work in drawing people to himself. We get to participate. We get to rely on him. What does this say about who God is? What does this say about who we are?
- Not only do we get to rely on him, we also have to rely on him. Look back to the quote at the beginning of the day. Apart from him we can do nothing. What does this say about who God is? What does this say about who we are?