The faith or the efforts ?

"For by grace you are saved through faith, and it does not come from you, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2.8

We have been saved by grace ... by means of faith. What a wonderful gift ! Unfortunately, too many Christians give reason to Paul when he reproaches the Galatians : "After having begun with the Spirit, will you now end up with the flesh ?" Galatians 3.3

The believer relies on the grace of God and follows the direction of the Holy Spirit.

This is a question that deserves reflection. How do we get here ? In my opinion, whether we are aware of it or not, we often approach God by faith, and then try to maintain this relationship on our own. We believed in him for our salvation, but we try to put that salvation into action for ourselves.

It's a shame, because all our efforts are useless. We work hard to change and only reap the frustration. Oh, maybe we're seeing some small changes here and there, but it's only when we ask God to help us and let us be guided by his Spirit that we begin to see profound and lasting transformations in our lives. .

An image of Zachariah's book is a good illustration of how things should go. It is that of a gold lamp-holder surmounted by a tank and constantly supplied with oil by two olive trees overhanging it on both sides.

This oil represents the Holy Spirit of God. The reservoir oil flows continuously to supply the lamps at the top of the lamp holder. We, too, need a continuous supply of the power of God. You see, we are unable to change ourselves; This transformation will not happen either by our strength, by our power, or by our efforts, "but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." Zechariah 4.6

This is the power of grace. And we need this power to deal with all our problems and adversities.

I propose another image : farmers have standards for sowing, but not for harvesting. Our processes and principles are like seeds. But it is the grace of God that produces the harvest.

It is up to us to choose whether we want to rely on man - our own efforts - or on grace - the power of God. We can work in the flesh, which represents our personal strength, or let the Holy Spirit lead us. We can literally spend our whole life redoubling our efforts, and seeing only minimal changes. Or we can learn to let the Holy Spirit lead us according to God's plan for us, and see real change. The sooner we become aware that we will not succeed without his help, and the sooner we can "connect" with God and relax. The pressure is no longer on our shoulders ... it is God who will finish what he started in our salvation" (Philippians 1.6).

You can live by faith or by your efforts. He who relies on himself works tirelessly, saved by grace, but alive by his human strength. The believer relies on the grace of God and follows the direction of the Holy Spirit to a victorious and productive life.

A reflection for today

Each of us is faced with this choice. We can pray, study and confess Scripture from morning to evening. There is nothing wrong with that. We will succeed in producing a small change in our life. Or we can pray, study and confess the Word of God as the Holy Spirit shows us - and expect from Him not only lasting change, but eternal life ! So, how do you choose to live ? Counting on God or your efforts ?

Joyce Meyer

Source (The Thought of the Day)