Do I want to be my own lord? Most of us do, we just don't want to admit it because we are Christians. Most of us want God to do what we want. Aren't you glad He puts up with us? But Jeremiah was given the challenge of telling Israel the problem of making themselves lord. If you would read Jeremiah 18, he gives it his best, but their answer was typical. They, simply put, told him to bug off. They said they were going to continue to live the way they wanted to and they didn't care what God said. So, God said OK. But when you loose everything and there is nothing but desolation, that desolation is going to be a monument to your stupidity. Pretty strong words but He is a pretty strong God. We think they are bad but how many monuments have we erected to our own stupidity? I know of several in my life that God had to cover with the blood of Jesus.
1Pe 5:10 In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.
We suffer so many times for the stupid things we do in our lives. But, through Gods kindness, we have been given the opportunity to share in His glory. Yes we are going to go through a lot of things, but it is His glory he wants to share with us through Christ Jesus. We have more going for us than any person on the face of the earth, yet we still allow our stupidity to build monuments. Peter tells us, in 1 Peter chapter 4, to be happy when when we suffer for being a Christian. Then in verse 15 he tells us, look stupid, you are not suffering for Christ when you murder( get angry), get caught stealing, causing trouble or getting into other peoples business. That isn't suffering, that is being stupid. Now I know I am not being politically correct saying the word stupid. But in the famous words of Forrest Gump, stupid is as stupid does. Suffering does come so many times because we try taking on the lordship of our lives and being the lord of others. But thank God for His grace and mercy! When we finally get tired of being lord and we give it back to Him, he restores us, supports us and He strengthens us through the gentle Lordship that He sets in our lives through His firm foundation. You can push against the truth all that you want. But in the end you will say these words right along with Peter:
1Pe 5:11 All power to Him forever! Amen.
Continue being your own lord, continue building your own monuments. If you want to, go ahead and suffer beyond your limits and continue living your own way. Someday you will awaken out of your stupor and allow Him to truly be Lord, then you will never go through any more than God has equipped you for. Three books were written in the old testament by King Solomon. Solomon started out great but didn't allow God Lordship of his entire life. The wisest man in the then known world did some pretty stupid things that we will not get into. He was equipped through a prayer he made to God for wisdom to lead Israel. God granted him that wisdom and he used it to build the nation and the kingdom of God, but his personal life didn't look so good. When he wrote the last chapter of Ecclesiastes he said these great words that we hear a lot:
Ecclesiastes 12:8(kj) Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
He said the teacher was considered wise and he taught the people everything he knew. But he didn't teach himself or listen to himself very well which made all of his teaching vane. Pro 1:33 But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm." Yes, Solomon wrote this and taught it. Pro 2:8 He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to Him. And yes, he wrote this too, but in the end his life was vanity. He married so many wives and had so many concubines he had to keep a record book just to keep up with them. But the thing that he neglected the most was raising a son to take his place. When his son took over, the kingdom was split up and everything was downhill from then on because Solomons son, Rehoboam, would not relinquish his lordship, and allow The LORD to be Lord. Look at your life well and understand everything you do in yourself is vanity and everything you do in Christ brings him and you glory. Do not allow your last words to be, vanity, vanity all is vanity. Gather up your pride, cast it all on Him and allow Christ to have His Lordship in your life, knowing, He cares for you.
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