Who is Credited for Our Success

What person, over the age of 35, will ever forget Frank Sinatra’s hit song, ‘My Way’. Here are the lyrics at the heart of his testimony of self – I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway; And more, much more than this, I did it my way. This anthem of the ‘Me Generation’ has another message also – I am my god! Imagine assuming I am the author of my own fate; I am responsible for everything which happens to me. If something doesn’t work out, I cannot look anywhere else but myself! Are we that isolated from the reality of God? If I claim I am responsible for my successes, then I am also responsible for my fiascos; but how many of us, when we do fail, blame everyone else but ourselves – this is delusion and cowardice.

Yahvey’s Word creates for us a totally different reality. In Jeremiah 29:11, we read – For I know what plans I have in mind for you,’ says Adonai, ‘plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future. To this we add the words of the Master Himself, as found in Luke 12:6,7 – Aren’t sparrows sold for next to nothing, five for two assarions? And not one of them has been forgotten by God.  Why, every hair on your head has been counted! Don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows? So, what is preventing the many from seeing what the few see so clearly?

In Jeremiah 4:3,4, we are given a clue: Break up your ground that hasn’t been ploughed, and do not sow among thorns. What do the metaphors in these verses mean? The ground that hasn’t been ploughed, refers to our hearts, the seats of our will. An unploughed heart represents stubbornness and pride, what Deuteronomy means by stiff-necked, as in – Therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart; and don’t be stiff-necked any longer! (Deuteronomy 10:16) Thorns refer to those who not only do not believe but attempt to choke-off the belief of others. Adonai Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, used these metaphors in His parable of the sower, found in Matthew 13. What is preventing the many from seeing what the few see so clearly as God’s Truth? Is it possible this ‘blindness’ is caused by human pride and the desire to bring everyone else down to the commonness of spiritual poverty, the paved and wide road?

Beloved, if I believe my fate is in my own hands and I decide which direction in life I travel and specific paths I take, then I am living in a state of self-delusion; how can I possibly account for every turn, every hurdle, every barricade in front of me? How can I absolutely account for every tangent I am tempted to take in my journey, tangents which the adversary may be using to pull me closer to him? Would it not be more realistic, wiser and more spiritually mature to allow our Perfect Father to lead and follow the straight and narrow path towards righteousness? Which path would you choose to take?

CONSIDER: Who am I serving, with the directions I take in life – the ‘dark-one’ or the One with the Light – Adonai Yeshua, the Lord Jesus. What do I want to hear, when my human life is finished – “Come into my parlour” or “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

ACTION: Make a conscious choice! Don’t take too long, don’t waffle! Our time on this earth is finite and we never know when we will be called to account for our actions.

PRAY: ABBA, our Perfect Father, I come to you with so many questions: How will You lead me? If I cannot rely on people around me to lead me to what is righteous, how can I rely on You? Help me, please to understand how You are so different from those who claim to be the true leaders? Please help me! In your Precious Name I pray.

May the God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob bless you richly.