Lightness of being #2 From independence to dependency (1 June 2013)

Dear...

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
                   Psalms 119:105

Much as my carnal self continues to be peeled away, and my spirit man is increasingly being brought forth,  I am still very much a work in progress. The more I soak myself in the Word of God, the more I find my heart transformed, and my mind renewed. And the more I respond as His Spirit leads, my faith grows.

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning,
he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
                   Isaiah 50:4

But beyond my conscious hours, the Spirit of God continues to mold me. Last night, I found myself being spoken to by our Lord on this issue of independence versus dependency.

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
                   Genesis 3:5

Having just returned from Bangkok, I am reminded of the great credence many of my Thai friends ascribed to the fortune telling prowess of their favorite clairvoyant. In the financial markets, there is also a surfeit of soothsayers, difference is that they wear business suits.
But truth is, the preponderance to predict into the future is innate in all of us. A couple of choice gems of such behavior would include our tendency to worry because we start to extrapolate into the future, much as no one knows for certain the next moment. And what about striving hard for a bright future? Truth is, will you still be alive tomorrow?

For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you;
and the God of Israel will be your rereward.
                 Isaiah 52:12

Living in a developed city like Singapore, light is everywhere, and rare would one experience pitch darkness. But on a spiritual plane, darkness in its most oppressive has and continues to encapsulate the hearts of many. The Word of God can enlighten, enliven and enable us His people to walk through the darkness.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
                    Proverbs 3:5-6

But we must be willing to look to Christ and not upon our own understanding.
We must discard this fallacy of being independent minded and deliberately move to a total dependence upon our Lord. And the Word is God. And all who do take time to dwell upon the Word of God will know that the Word of God will correct, enlighten, inspire, assure and lead forth.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
                   Proverbs 18:10

To look to Christ  is to run unto His presence. How does one do that? Why must one do that?
As the Spirit leads, let me start with the "why."
If you were to take a step back and consciously observe your surrounds, you will realize that we live in  a very self conscious world. Class consciousness be it the Indian caste system, the British stiff upper lip vis a vis Eliza Doolittle's docklands cockney accent or present day Singapore's fixation with the school you attend and is it a Beemer or a bummer  that shuttles you around? And not forgetting the surfeit of slimming salons and aesthetic care centers.

Life is indeed one unfulfilled Odyssey. And as long as we are self conscious, Satan will have a firm grip upon us. The "independence" that Satan offered Adam and Eve is an illusion. In reality, this "right to decide" independent of our Sovereign God has entrapped man in the barnacles of sin that the devil has laid.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
                Psalms 139:23-24

From self conscious to God conscious, that is what the spirit man of God must consciously do. I always start the day in the presence of our Lord, to know His will. And in all things I do ,  I now take time to look from His perspective. This determined effort to place total reliance upon God has freed me from my own inability to foresee or fathom whatever troubles the day brings. For the peace that God gives is independent of our circumstances.  And I like to close the night by remembering and thanking God for His grace, much as I have been imperfect.

But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
                  Hebrews 10:32

Trusting God does not mean a trouble free life. In fact, troubles are often the ideal platform for us to meet and know our Maker. God will show us the path to take, faith is about knowing and clinging on to this route much as circumstances seek to sway us otherwise.

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
                  Hebrews 11:8

Would you be like Abraham or would you rather wallow in misery like the present day Adams who chose not to follow God?

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer?
Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
                       Isaiah 50:2

God blesses

Eng Hieang
1st June 2013