Is it? I think so.. hmm..

Cut and paste from two daily devotionals I received today.. how true this is, in many sense!.. Indeed it is much easier to do something than to trust in God. And, all of us go through the breaking process.. to know that God is the source of our worth.. Just got reminded of that again very recently.. how forgetful we are.. at least, I know I am.. always need to be reminded.. and God knows me very well.. hee.. *wink*

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The Staggering Question

By Oswald Chambers

He said to me, ’Son of man, can these bones live?’

Ezekiel 37:3

Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” ( Ezekiel 37:3  ). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.”

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.

“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves . . .” ( Ezekiel 37:12 ). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” ( Romans 7:18  ). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

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The Breaking Process

Your kingdom come. Your will be done...

Matthew 6:10 NKJV

In the breaking process God's intention is not to destroy your will, but redirect it; not to rob you of self-worth, but to let you see that He is the source of your worth. Gideon's three hundred soldiers had to break their pitchers, which made them vulnerable to attack, before the light within them could shine out and the enemy be defeated (Judges 7). Elisha had to break his plough, which represented his financial security, before he could qualify for a double portion of God's Spirit (1 Kings 19:19-21). Mary had to break her alabaster box, which represented her dowry and hope for marriage, in order to receive Christ's highest commendation (Mark 14:3-9). 

Brokenness is costly; it happens in stages. 

Stage 1: Repentance. After his affair with Bathsheba David prayed, 'The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit… ' (Psalm 51:17 NLT). 

Stage 2: Discipline. '… I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified' (1 Corinthians 9:27 NKJV). 

Stage 3: Intimacy. You love prayer and God's Word because you 'connect' with Him through them. But you'll have to fight the distractions around you to get to the place of intimacy, and fight the carnality within you to stay there.

The real issue in brokenness is submitting to God's control. 

Dick Rasanen writes: 'Dear God, I find it so easy to try to be the one in charge. I find it so painful to realize that I am not the one in control. Help me to know when saying 'I just work here' it's a confession, and not just a way of evading responsibility.'

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