|
We Can't, but God Can!
Victoria Boyson
www.boyson.org
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus tells us about a master who gave three of his servants varying amounts of money to manage for him. The first
two servants invested his money wisely and he was pleased. But the last servant did nothing with the money he was given.
"And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be
a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'"
"But his master
answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money
back with interest'" (Matthew 25:25-27).
The servant admitted he was motivated by fear saying, "I was afraid..."
Our "talent" represents the gifts and abilities that God has given
to us. It is often difficult to express our talents to others because of fear. How many of us have hidden our talents in the ground for fear of what others would think?
We say to God, "I am afraid, so I can't
do what You have asked me to do." In other words, we are saying to Almighty God that we are willing to disobey Him because we refuse to even try to conquer our fears.
Confronting Fear
God does love us very much, He will always love us, and He does understand our fears. Moreover, He wants us to conquer our fears. But He does not expect us to do it on our own. In fact, He wants to help us. It is when He helps us that we learn of Him and trust Him more - when we learn just how much He truly does love us.
God allows us to go into circumstances that He knows full well will terrify us. He does this so we can, with His help, kill the fear we have regarding that situation. One of His greatest pleasures is to see His
children conquer their fears. He knows it will not be easy for us, but He wants us to fight through the fear. Our victory is not that we cease to be afraid, but that we are obedient to God regardless of the fear we face.
God is building strength in our lives when we, in obedience to Him, seek to conquer the thing we fear. His promise to us is that He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). This is never more true than when
we take a bold stand against the fear in our lives. His anointing produces the faith in us to do what He asks us to do regardless of fear.
It is difficult to face what we fear, but it will be our trust and faith
in God that gets us through. It does not mean we will not have fear, but that we can defeat fear with the promises of God. His presence in our lives encourages us to press through. Likewise, our faith in Him
brings us peace and strength which eradicates our fears. His perfect love casts out our fears (1John. 4:18).
When I began traveling and ministering, I was terrified! I was afraid...but I did it. The anointing of
God fell and the Holy Spirit took over. I ministered with great anointing, but the anointing did not come before I started ministering, but as I ministered to the people. And I have found that the more obedient I am, the stronger His anointing is on me.
When We are Loved
When we know definitely that we are loved by someone, we are not afraid of them. Their love for us gives us strength. That is how it is with God. That is why Satan tries so hard to get us to
believe God is upset with us or that He is a hard master. The wicked servant was convinced that his master was a hard man (Matthew. 25:24), which is why he feared him. If we truly knew how much God loves us, we would fear
nothing! It is not faith in our ability that get us through, but faith in His love for us, knowing that He will never let us down.
How was it the wicked servant was so convinced of his master's harshness toward
him? How is it that we, at times, are convinced that God is waiting to condemn us when we fail? On the contrary, it is our loving Father who lifts us back up. "I will uphold you with My righteous right hand"
(Isaiah 41:10). It is He who encourages us to see that our failures can be used for His Glory. It is He who shows us the importance of our failures. Like the master in Matthew, our Father is not angry when we
fail, only when we won't try. And when we do fail, He works even our failures for our good (Romans 8:28).
"Do Not Be Afraid!"
In Numbers chapter thirteen, God had brought the children of Israel to
the land He had promised them. Moses sent in the twelve spies to see what the land was like. When they arrived back home, Caleb and Joshua told the people that it truly was a good land and that they should take
possession of it immediately (Numbers 13:30). However, the ten other spies, while they agreed that the land was good, did not believe they could possess it. Instead of seeing the promises of God, they saw the obstacles that
stood in their way of receiving the promised land (vs.31-33).
"But the men who had gone up with him said, 'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.'" (Numbers14:32).
God had delivered them out of the hands of Pharaoh and brought them through the Red Sea and totally destroyed their enemies. Now, standing in front of the promise of God, their eyes were on what they feared and not on God. It
seems incomprehensible that they would fear. But how often do we rely on our own strength to deliver us instead of looking to God who has brought us through so much?
The wicked spies said, "We can't!" But Caleb and Joshua said, "God can!"
"The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that
land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection
is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them" (Numbers 14:7-9 NIV emphasis mine).
Unbelief and fear are rebellion to God. I think some how we have gotten the idea that faith and trust in
Him are optional. We have fallen into the belief that it is our choice whether we go to the next level and believe for His provisions. It is not, for "without faith it is impossible to please [God]" (Hebrews
11:6).
Are You Ready?
We want peace and safety, but God wants us battle ready. If we are not going forward into the next battle or taking possession of our "promised land," then we disappoint God. He believes in us and we must trust His wisdom concerning ourselves more than our own belief in what we can accomplish. He wants us looking ahead, not behind.
Friends, we will continue to be put through the testing until we pass the test - until we can say like Caleb, without fear, "we will swallow them up!" For our trust in God must be so strong that there is no
question of weather we will fight or not - we just go!
Beloved, as we continue to battle against the forces of darkness even though we are afraid, we will become more like the army God has envisioned us to be. However,
if we do not try, we may never see the realization of God's dreams for us. And His dream is to see you living victoriously in ALL the promises He has for you!
|
|
