The best of our human abilities still falls short of God’s requirement for pleasing Him, because no amount of human might or power can produce faith. To please God requires that we look to Him in all circumstances. Hence, the Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Prov 3:5-6).
We experience the fulfilment of God’s promises for our lives by faith, and not by striving. This is why God specifically commands us to “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Ps 46:10 NASB). To cease striving is to relax, to let go. This is in keeping with the fundamental nature of faith, which is rest. When we truly believe, we enter God’s rest: “For we who have believed do enter that rest…” (Heb 4:3). This, however, does not imply that God wants or expects us to be lazy, far from it. Like Jesus, God simply wants us to rely on the Holy Spirit for direction and empowerment in all our ways. Striving, on the other hand, indicates a lack of trust in God, because it is the substitution of human effort and strength for reliance on God’s wisdom and power.
This is why the Bible encourages us to “…imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Heb 6:12). Though all God’s promises in Christ are yes and amen (2Cor 1:20), it takes faith to see them manifest in material reality. We cannot enjoy the provisions of God’s promises for us, until we take them by faith. Salvation is by grace, and, therefore, free because Christ has paid for it. However, we can only access it through faith (Eph 2:8).
Faith, however, begins with knowing the will of God by revelation. This was why the Apostle Paul prayed: “…asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” (Col 1:9 NIV). Only God can fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, without which it is impossible to exercise faith for the fulfilment of His promises. This, as the next scriptural verse indicates, is, “… that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,” (Col 1:10 NIV).
Consequently, we must believe and act on God’s word as the Holy Spirit quickens and applies it to us. The Holy Spirit has to reveal God’s promises to you personally, if they are going to become your possession in experience. It is not enough to know them merely as information in your head. For them to benefit you personally, they have to be unveiled in your heart as revelation knowledge. There is a huge difference between intellectual knowledge and revelation knowledge. This is why the Bible says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1Cor 2:12). The Holy Spirit makes us know these things by revelation. Let us, therefore, yield to Him. Shalom.
