Romans 7:18 The total extent and ugliness of sin that inhabits me, reduced my life to good intentions that cannot be followed through. (TMB)

Whose ideas do you really want?

Do you realize that within you, human you, there is nothing good? 

Romans 7:18-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. (MSG)

You can have ideas and intentions to produce something you believe will be a blessing for others. Just know, though you may see them through to the end, they will not produce the Godkind of results without God. This is also true even when God you are sure you are obeying the voice of God and you join Him in His work. The work must be by His power and strength. You go down the wrong path when you use “your money”, “your passion”, and “your strength”. The enemy will get you wrapped up in planning and orchestrating “good” things. Yet, somehow, the sacrifices you will have to make can often stop you in your tracks. You become exhausted because you are working in your own power and not God’s.

• Abraham tried to fix things when he lied about Sarah being his sister. (Genesis 20)

Genesis 20:10-11 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered or seen [in us or our customs], that you have done this [unjust] thing?” 11 Abraham said, Because I thought, ‘Surely there is no fear or reverence of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ (AMP) 

• Sarah made a mess when she tried to make a way for Abraham to have offspring. The feud between those sons is still going on today. (Genesis 16, 21)
• King Saul tried to do a good thing and disobeyed God. (1 Samuel 15)

1 Samuel 15:13-15 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15 And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” (NKJV) 

• Peter was trying to make sense of the old traditions and the new. (Acts 11)

Acts 11:7-9 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; [a]kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing [b]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer [c]consider unholy’. (NASB)

If you are not careful, you become unreliable and inconsistent. Ding! Another point for the devil! Don’t be ignorant of  his devices. Know the types of traps he sets for you. Allow God to guide you and direct you. The goal of your work must be for God’s glory. It cannot happen without God. If you spend time in the presence of the Father, He will give you witty ideas and the grace to fulfill them. They may seem impossible for you to do, which is exactly the way they should seem. It’s God’s idea, and only God can fulfill the idea through you.

Please agree with me as I pray. Then ask the Lord what your prayer should be and wait for His response:

Father, today I stop coming up with things to do and asking You to bless my ideas. I am very sorry. Please forgive me. No longer do I want “good ideas,” I want “Your ideas”. I will wait for You to order my steps, light my path, and show me what You want me to do. I used to be anxious when things don’t happen when I want them to, how I want them to, and where I want them to. That stops today! I also stop looking for the response I want to receive from those who are in my life and from You. If I don’t, anxiety and frustration make my heart heavy and block You out. I will do what Your word says. I will be anxious for nothing. I want more of You and I will wait for You. While waiting, I will praise You knowing that I will find You and all that You have ordained for my life…

Ask the lord what he wants to say to you about today’s devotional and journal it here: