Two year old Timothy’s Cheerios sat untouched in front of him. He had been restless during the night and had only been awake for about ten minutes. His mom had listed his options for breakfast before pouring his cereal and placing it in front of him. Thinking he was still half asleep, I spooned up a bite and offered it to him. He leaned forward, considering my offer, before turning to his mom to say, “I want you to feed me, Mom.” I passed her the bowl with the spoonful propped on the right. She switched the spoon to the left and offered it to him. Thomas, who had already finished his breakfast and was coloring at his spot next to Timothy, asked, “Why did you switch sides, mom?” “Because I’m left-handed, Tom!” she quipped playfully.
We learned our daughter was left-handed when she was five. Of course, being right-handed myself, I assisted her with holding her pencil and forming her letters on the right. I’ve seen her do the same with her boys, only on their left. Once she had learned her alphabet, she staunchly refused assistance. She formed the letters perfectly, only they were backwards and from right to left. You could hold her script up to a mirror and read it correctly.
Had she been a little older, I would have assumed she was mastering secret codes to keep her brothers from reading over her shoulder. Since she resisted my every attempt to correct her, I was genuinely concerned. I wish I remembered what prompted me to encourage her to try writing with her left hand. I was not using social media, if there was such a thing in those days, so I know I did not read the suggestion in one of the myriad influencer posts. Probably, like most of the insightful moves I’ve made in my life, it was Holy Spirit inspired. There is truly no area of life where God is not present and active.
Do you struggle with allowing God to occupy the seat of power that is rightly His in your life? Do you hesitate to give Him credit where credit is due? Maybe you’ve never considered how many times a day you say something like, “I was just thinking,” or “If you want my opinion,” or even “so and so says you should try this or that.” When we claim to be Christians who believe God’s promise to send His Spirit as our Helper, Comforter, Teacher, and Advocate, we must recognize and readily acknowledge His work in our lives. Jesus insisted that when we acknowledge Him publicly before men, He acknowledges us before God but if we deny Him, He will likewise deny us before the Father. (Matthew 10:32-33) We cause ourselves only misery when we begin to rely on our own understanding rather than choosing in the words of Proverbs 3:5-6 to trust in the Lord with our whole hearts and to acknowledge Him in all our ways, allowing Him to direct our paths.
“And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.”
Judges 2:7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jdg.2.7.NLT
“After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt.
They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them.
And they angered the Lord.”
Judges 2:10, 12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jdg.2.10-12.NLT
Entering the Promised Land and receiving God’s promised inheritance, required complete trust in and loyalty to God. The Israelites did not need to understand or even agree with God’s instructions about driving out the nations before them. He was prepared to equip and empower them to act in obedience. They merely needed to comply. Both Moses and Joshua warned them about the dangers of commingling with the nations whose land they were occupying. Joshua even pledged his allegiance to the God of his fathers, saying, “choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) The people promised never to abandon the Lord to serve other gods but their series of compromises led them to forget the deliverance of the Lord, choosing instead to worship the local deities. By the end of Judges, we read that all the people did what seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)
I believe this is also a fair assessment of our day and age. Many claim their version of truth and justify any and every sort of action by it. I believe in ultimate, absolute Truth. His name is Jesus. God has given Him a “name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (So we) work hard to show the results of y(our) salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:10-13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.2.10-13.NLT
“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.
He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.
By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.
(It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed.
And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:1-6, 8-10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.1-10.NLT
My salvation and my obedience are empowered by God’s Holy Spirit and are to be worked out with deep reverence and awe.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.
With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life.
He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior.
He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.”
2 Timothy 1:7-10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.1.7-10.NLT
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit.
You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God.
For there are many false prophets in the world.
This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.
But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God.
Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
But you belong to God, my dear children.
You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them.
But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us.
If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us.
That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.”
1 John 4:1-6 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.4.1-6.NLT
“For the word of God is alive and powerful.
It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.
It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
Hebrews 4:12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.4.12.NLT
“We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.
We faithfully preach the truth.
God’s power is working in us.
We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.
We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us.
We are honest, but they call us impostors.”
2 Corinthians 6:6-8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.6.6-8.NLT
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.
Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.
Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Ephesians 6:10-11, 13-18 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.6.11-18.NLT
“Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”
Psalms 100:3-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.100.5.NLT
Battle Is The Lords ~Rebecca St James https://youtu.be/cg4Afz08JLI?si=pUC6X-v4bCzlVCeV
Battle Belongs ~Phil Wickham https://youtu.be/johgSkNj3-A?si=EzEerhBVZHOuDFxi
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