Daily Fenelon > Live out God's truth
Live out God's truth
As you read a passage from the Scriptures, pause after each verse or phrase to hear what God might be saying. Consider how Jesus practices what you are reading. Think how other faithful believers live out God's truth. Consider what may keep you from living the truth out yourself. As you sense your inability to live out some truth, come before God humbly and silently. See clearly how incapable you are. Ask God to live His life in you, and to do for you all that you cannot do yourself. He will certainly finish the work that He started in
you.
Let me give you an example. Suppose you are reading John 17. In this passage Jesus says to His Father: " I have glorified You on earth; I have finished the work which You gave me to do." Everyone has his own work but not everyone is doing the work which God has given him to do. Everything that you do from pride, or to move up in the eyes of the world, or merely because it pleases your old nature is not the work that God gives you. All this kind of work is from the world, or the flesh, or even the devil.
What God wants you to do is work on those things that are out of line with His nature within you. He wants to replace your old nature with His very own nature. This will mean new thoughts and desires. Here is the work of God. Consider the example of the believers that have gone before you. Some of them had a much harder time than you do. They were weak, too, but they finished their spiritual race. You are not speaking on God's behalf when you exhibit a temper that is out of control. His work begins in you by your wanting to turn away from your old life. Gentleness is Your work, my God. Here is the work that You have given me to do.
Perhaps God has called you to endure being poorly served. Do so gladly, for it will certainly please God. Remember that you are not called to be well-served, but to serve Him well. Learn to be gentle and patient with all that disturbs you.
Each day is full of many such matters and you will learn to deal with them. Each of these events will teach you to live in the presence of God. Do not trust your good intentions if they do not produce a sense of life within you. Seek to become gentle and humble. If you do something wrong that only affects you, then quietly repent of it. If you have wronged others, perhaps with a nasty word, then do them some little act of kindness. Remember how gently and patiently God deals with you. Watch Him deal with you and from that leam to deal with others. Do not be discouraged by your mistakes. Continually come back to God.
