So What Does God Want
From Me Anyway?
 

"From the Pastors Study"

Dear Friends,

When tragedy strikes, what ever it is, it seems that for most of us, our thoughts go to God. Why is this? Because inherently we know that when things happen to us that are bigger than we are, God must be involved. We know that He must either be involved in the tragedy or He will be involved in the aftermath, (the coping, the recuperating, the solving, the responding, etc.) or both. But is the Living God really involved in calamity? We cannot honestly say no. He says “I am the Lord, and there is no other, there is no God besides me…I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things” Isaiah 45:5-7. Does he personally initiate every calamity? We cannot honestly say yes. The Psalmist replies, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works.” (Psalm 145:17) So how is He involved? The answer is really pretty simple. We don’t completely know! And, we can’t know unless He tells us. Therefore, in light of the power and involvement of the living God a better question that should quickly form on the lips of every recipient or observer of tragedy is: So what does He want from me?

Whatever it is that He wants will be consistent to His holy character and purpose; so will the means through which he accomplishes it. So as we come to unanswerable, hard, questions we needn't question His holiness, goodness or love; we need only to question our vantage point, perspective and bias, as we seek to understand. From our vantage point, our perspective and our human bias, we simply cannot satisfactorily answer all the questions. So questions linger, “Why would Holy God do or allow something like this?” The answer although not always satisfactory to us, is to accomplish His Holy purpose (Romans 8:28). To get our unholy attention and cause us to ask the question for ourselves: What does He want anyway? So…WHAT DOES HE WANT FROM ME?

God wants a response of humility and contrition before him. He requires a humble and contrite heart.

Lets consider what He wants in a bit more detail. The Bible states clearly in Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O Man, what is good: and what does the Lord require of you but…to walk humbly with your God?” Humility is not optional with God.

Since humility is so important we should try to understand it well. Humility is my living before God first, and then men, in such a way that recognizes my low position, small priority, and little power. Humility is not simply a demeanor we assume. It is the way we choose to respond to God and men. The opposite of humility is pride, the universal sin. To be proud is not simply the way you walk or talk, although those things may come from pride. To be proud is to live in such a way that you think you are big or have a high priority. It is to think you don’t need to please God or obey Him or trust Him. Instead you stand on your own two feet, have your own mind, and live your own way. But, you ask, is that really bad? Shouldn’t we be our own person? Won’t we get run over if we are not proud? Is it really that bad to be proud? Consider the Word of God:

Pride is so destructive and humility so important that God will allow or bring difficulty into our lives corporately or personally in order to humble us (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). Why would God do that? Why does the sovereign God see our humility as such an important and worthy goal?

Our humility is vital because God, in His holiness, can only respond favorably to the humble person. Consider His words in James 4:6 “God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble.” Since God is so loving, as well as holy, He desires for us to humble ourselves before Him so His grace can be poured out upon us.

Humility allows us to trust Christ. The Bible describes for us the condescension of Christ, from His eternal glory in Heaven, as God the Son (Philippians 2:5-8) and calls us to follow His example. It was an example of humility. Christ willingly emptied himself of His rightful glory, since He is God the Son, and came down to earth as a man. He lived righteously, fully keeping the law of God. He, the Son of God, humbled himself and was obedient unto death, even death on the cross. God wants us to humbly trust Him. Christ humbled Himself for us!

Humility is inseparably linked to faith and trust. If indeed we truly view ourselves as low before God, we will trust Him. One day when Jesus was talking to His disciples He told them “…unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 18:3-4) Unless we are humble we will not, indeed cannot, put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ; and without faith in Jesus Christ we cannot be forgiven, have life, or even please God. Humility is vital! God wants us to be humble.

Humility is necessary for a person to truly obey. When God told Pharaoh to let His people leave Egypt and Pharaoh refused, it was because of his pride. God called him to humility (Exodus 10:3).

Once when God reprimanded His people, Israel, for disobedience He called their attention, and ours, to the problem: they were not humble before Him (Jeremiah 44:10). When God instructed His sinning people, Israel, how to receive His blessing once again in their land His first requirement was that they humble themselves (II Chronicles 7:14).

The humility God requires is something we must consciously put on. God may bring or allow the circumstances that bring to light our pride. He may work to help shape us into a vessel of humility (Deuteronomy 8:16). Nonetheless, the truth remains, we must humble ourselves just like Manasseh the OT king in II Chronicles 33:12. We are responsible for putting on humility (Colossians 3:12).

As you think on the events of the past months in our nation and our church, consider your own personal response. Are you now more humble and responsive to God than you were before? Let this humility checklist start you on the evaluation process.

How many days and nights do you consistently humble yourself and cast your care on Him and how many days and nights are you worrying, fretting and anxious about circumstances (I Peter 5:6-7)?

When was the last time you repented of known sin and also the last time you stubbornly justified its existence because of …(II Chronicles 7:14)?

If you could call heaven on the telephone and ask Christ how well you are doing at trusting Him and following His instruction like a little child trusts his Daddy or in what areas you are trusting your own assessment and understanding and doing your own thing, what would HE say? (Matthew 18:4)

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate the level of your submission and thankfulness in the circumstances He has allowed? [1 2 3 4 5]

Or on the same scale how would you rate your own anger, and resistance to the circumstances He has sovereignly allowed? [1 2 3 4 5] (Micah 6:8, I Peter 5:6)

If you could look through the eyes of your family, your friends, and your Church what 3 actions or attitudes would show them you are humbled before them? (I Peter 5:5)

What does God want anyway? He wants you to be humble. Does God have what He wants in you?

Dear friends, let’s respond to our God in these circumstances with genuine and observable humility and let’s do it together.

Pastor Bruce Seivers
Valley Chapel Community Church
Fairfield, OH

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