38 “So in the present case i tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. you might even be found opposing God!” (Acts 5:38-39)
The Apostles were in a tough spot. They were the chosen few who got to witness the human God create the divine in a world anything but. They knew what they saw and it convicted them. None could be silent. As they crashed against the modern world, they crashed against laws and penalties. After finding themselves arrested (again), they were miraculously delivered to find themselves sharing once again what they had witnessed. This elder in the synagogue quoted above understood something; that the achievement of man can only reach as far as the Lord allows.
Oftentimes we believe in God’s rule in words alone, yet act as if results lay on our shoulders alone.
When you relinquish your strength in favor of the Lord’s, your soul aligns with the almighty. In perfect alignment, the outcomes of life become divinely sure. To a large extent, our own toil is pointless and doomed to fail if the Lord is not the active force behind it. For who can spoil the plans of the almighty God?
Today, lean into God. Are your motivations and actions a result of deep communion with Him or are they the undertakings of man? The difference is in the results – doomed to fail or God orchestrated.
Lord, lead my motivations, budget my desires, and relax my desire to do it all.
Matt simon blog 