A theology that focuses on what Christ has done for us alone but depraves us of any form of responsibility and response is at one side of the extreme. If it was only about the finished works of Christ, the New Testament should have ended at the Gospels. Every single book in the New Testament gives us practical instructions, clearly showing that our part to play is not only now possible in Christ, but important. You have an assignment. This is the general description of everyone’s destiny in Christ. He gave us His Spirit, His Life, His Grace, in fact, Himself, so He can continue His good pleasures on the earth. It’s not only about what God can do for you, but what God can do with you and through you. Be an earthen vessel!
If God Wants, He Will Do It
“If God wants to do it, He will do it” is the mindset of an irresponsible person. It makes it look like certain things don’t happen or didn’t happen because God didn’t want to do it. It is very similar to “whatever will be will be”. It’s a philosophy of people who will never contend for anything and think everything will just be handed over to them. Even babies cry for help. Sit there and compose yourself as you suffer. Do you think the devil is merciful? He is the epitome of wickedness, my dear. It doesn’t matter what he has done to you before. It doesn’t matter how long he has done it to you. As long as you remain irresponsible, you’ll suffer for a long time.
Your parents raised you because they love you unconditionally. They also raised you to be responsible. It’s the same with God. You will forever remain a baby Christian if you think everything is up to God so therefore you don’t have to do anything. It is babies who operate like that. Babies don’t have to work or even be responsible for themselves. They don’t even bathe themselves. Their parents do all that for them. However, a time comes when you grow up. The fact that you now have responsibility does not mean your parents have stopped loving you unconditionally. The Fatherhood of God raises us up to be responsible for our actions and input.
See, God is always willing. That is always 100% the case. It’s not whether God is willing or not, it’s whether you’re responsive or not. There’s no instance where you do nothing. God provided the people of Israel manna but they were still required to go out and pick it up. See, things don’t just happen o…things are made to happen. As children, you see things happen. You wake up every morning to find food in the kitchen. You always have clothes to wear, you pay nothing to have a roof over your head and all. As an adult, things don’t happen. Rather, you make things happen. If you don’t speak, the mountain won’t move. If you don’t ask, you will not receive. If you don’t seek, you won’t find. Take responsibility!
God will do what He alone can do. However, as a Father, He will never do what He has given you the ability to do. God will wake you up in the morning but He will not brush your teeth for you. He alone can do what He does, and He never does what He has enabled you to do. Read that again. If God did what you can do, you will say you did it. Yet, as humans, we want to play God’s part by taking things into our own hands, leaving the part we are rather supposed to play. God is the one responsible for giving you a talent, but make no mistake; He will demand a return-on-investment. Yes, God has demands. He will require of you. Everything He gives is free and yet, it will cost you everything.
When we don’t understand these things well, we will ask God why He has woken us up in the middle of the night to pray and say “couldn’t He have used that energy used to wake us up to pray for something to just do that something He is talking about?”. Stop playing that “God, you can do all things” card on God and get up and pray. The fact that God has involved us does not mean He can’t do it on His own. It is a privilege He has given you to share in His glory. Don’t fail God. Don’t disappoint Him. Be a person after His heart by doing all His Will. Whatever the Master tells you to do, do it.
What Necessitates our Role
When God created the earth, He gave us the dominion. Therefore, anything God wants to do on earth should involve us. That’s the protocol He set in place. That’s why in Ezekiel 22:30, God is searching for a man. If a president wants to do something in a region, he does it through a Regional Minister. Otherwise, why will you appoint a Regional Minister if you keep bypassing the person to enact things in the region you gave them authority over? I hope you get it now. It’s a legality. You now understand why, although Jesus was predestined to be born, Anna had to stay in the Temple day and night to pray.
Write this down and never forget it; NONE OF GOD’S PRINCIPLES CONTRADICTS THE OTHER. God does not break His precepts to fulfill another. God will not suspend one command to accommodate the other. Grace does not negate fasting. Faith does not negate works. Favour does not negate prayer. Mercy does not negate faithfulness. Forgiveness does not negate obedience. Love does not negate responsibility. Omniscience does not negate demands.
Not only is our role important, it is commanded by God. God can do it without you but has chosen to do it with you. If you don’t play your role, it will amaze you the number of things that won’t come to pass in your life. Apart from the legalities involved, God is not going to waste His resources when there is no one on the receiving end. He is the God of abundance, not waste. If no one in a generation is responsive, He is patient enough to wait for another generation. What God wants to do will be done at the end of the day, with or without you. Your cooperation means it will come to pass in your lifetime. Your lack of cooperation means it will pass you by but what God wants to do will come to pass.
God has a 100% track record. He has always played His part. If you take action, it is for your own benefit. You already know what God requires of you. You have already received instructions from God. If you obey, it is for your own benefit. God remains God whether you win or lose, succeed or fail, make it or give up. It’s up to you to obey God. Whatever you think is up to God to do is not a problem at all. Always have the mindset that God has already played His part because He indeed has. So at the end of the day, you can’t blame God for anything.
If You Don’t Fight the Devil, He Won’t Fight You?
I don’t know why, as a Christian, we are trying to avoid warfare. There has to be a deception somewhere. The Bible literally calls you a soldier, more than a conqueror, calls our journey the good fight of faith, instructs us to put on our spiritual armour and tells you who you are up against. Why are you running from the battle? Do you think the devil is not interested in destroying you or what? Someone who has checked your background, preplanned ways of destroying you and has tried to kill you countless times?
In a way, you don’t even need to be a Christian for the devil to hate you. You just have to be a human being. Being a Christian makes your matter worse. He hates you completely. The book of Psalms says he will attack you “without cause”. That means it’s not your actions that causes him to fight you; it’s your identity. It’s not what you do that makes him fight you; it’s who you are. So stop accommodating darkness by hiding your light under a basket. By being Light, you have already declared war against darkness. The devil will fight you in many ways whether you fight back or not. You better renew your mind and take dominion. Subdue!
God Knows, So What?
In any outcome of our lives, the easiest thing – and also the stupidest thing – to do is to blame God. “God knew that it would happen but He made it happen”. You made a wrong decision but it’s God’s fault that He didn’t step in to stop you. “Oh God knew I would fornicate…”. “God knows how much I’m suffering so He will come through for me.” My friend, at the end of the day, you can’t use that as an excuse o. Jesus came to pay a very heavy price and yet, people still go to hell. Doesn’t God know that they will go to hell? God knowing means He made provision beforehand. Jesus said “God already knows what we need before we ask Him”. Yet, the fact that He knows does not stop the fact that we should ask Him.
Throughout the Old Testament, we see that God came through for His people whenever they cried out to Him. They can suffer for many years but immediately they cry out to God, God begins the rescue mission. Do you think it makes God insensitive because He doesn’t step in until they cry out to Him? No! Why do you choose to suffer when you can simply cry out to the Lord for Him to come through for you? What is easier to do; cry out to God or suffer while trying to navigate the situation on your own? You get the point. You have access to God. You can cry out to Him in times of trouble and He will answer you.
What God does sovereignly is none of my business because I have no part to play in that. However, I am responsible for the part I have to play. Is it intercession? Is it prayer? Is it submission? Is it diligence? I will do it to the best of the ability He has given me. He will give me more than I ask and will even give me what I don’t ask by His Sovereign act. That notwithstanding, I shouldn’t expect to receive what I don’t ask when I have been given the privilege of asking. Your decisions directly affect your destiny. We are not robots.
Arise and shine. Pray and do not faint. Be diligent. Ask, seek, knock. Contend for your destiny. Pursue, overtake, recover all. The violent takes it by force. The work won’t do itself. You’ve got work to do!
Ask, seek, knock🙇♀️. God bless you🙏🙏🙏