God's Time Release – Toni Babcock
God is not our willing prisoner of time. He is not passively waiting, sitting on his throne, drumming his fingers while we remain undecided about the gospel.
We so often lock ourselves up in time and duty, imagining we must wait before we come to Jesus; wait until we are good enough, wait until we are strong enough, wait until we are humble enough, wait until we are able to overcome our wretched selves. Meanwhile the clock keeps ticking, and the task gets harder. In unbelief, we paralyze ourselves, waiting for somebody, anybody (except Jesus) to show up with a set of jumper cables and spark us into action.
This is a waste of God's good time. Once we hear the gospel, God expects we surrender to Jesus - the source of all power today, as in now. Andrew Murray, a nineteenth-century pastor explained, "There is nothing so hardening as delay." Instead of making the surrender easier, it only makes it more difficult.
The Spirit of God says "Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts," "…Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation." (Hebrews 4:7b) (II Corinthians 6:2b).
About that dead battery? Jesus said "without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5 KJV). Jesus holds the power to make us what we ought to be today, without jumper cables! What a relief.
Surrender of the will is a lifelong exercise empowered by Christ - not a self-made laurel to rest our faith upon. Death to my own will, life in God's will each day through the power of the gospel. This is the power of Christ in me - today.
Toni Babcock is the author of The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens. Contact |
