Post details: Indispensable TO US!

11/14/05

Permalink 02:25:36 pm, Categories: GraceHead teaching, By Trent
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Indispensable TO US!

*Indispensable*
Essential.
Necessary.
Not able to do without.

Moments ago, Kat had THIS to say about witnessing.

She reminded me of a quote by Major Ian Thomas (Sermon audio - here, and here. / Excerpts of writing - here, and here) that made a big difference in my life. It goes something like this:

We are NOT indispensable to God.
God is indispensable to us.

This is surely a humbling thought, but it is also very liberating. God is going to handle it, and my path is simple - take my next step abiding in Him with faith that restrains me from acting rebelliously alone, and compels me to pour my decisions around His strength.

I say pour "my decisions around" deliberately.

I operate an inspection company that inspects slabs before they pour. Steel is strong but formless, and lacks the substance to actually build a house upon. Concrete, while having substantive form, is too brittle to make a lasting foundation. So, what we do is place steel, and pour concrete around the steel. The steel lends strength to the concrete ... and what people see when we are done is the concrete inwardly strengthened by the reinforcing bars.

So, abiding isn't the restraint from any and all decisions. Rather it is the confidence to go forward with decisions to give substance to the strength that lies within us. This simply means that we are considering Him relevant, and are open to His instruction, but trust that He is constantly working in us to WILL to do according to His purpose. This trust of our transforming will, means doing (or not doing) whatever we want (or do not want) to do - WHILE listening to Him for instruction if we have lost our way.

We live before God and make Him primary to all that we do ... not to please men, not to gain esteem, not to hide our faults, not to start an unholy war against those that "need" our correction, not to seek our comfort, etc.

Sometimes, this abiding takes the form of witnessing. But, not as a crusade of change.
Rather our witnessing can be as a bird that has a song in its heart dying to get out. It sings because it would be miserable if it had to be quiet. And seldom does it pause to consider if anyone is singing along, or paying attention.

Thanks for letting me sing this. I feel better for having gotten this off my chest. (as usual)
:-)


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Comments:

Comment from: herobill [Visitor] · http://herobill.blogspot.com
I like the steel-hiding-inside-the-concrete illustration a lot.  Thanks.
Permalink 11/16/05 @ 20:43
Comment from: Trent [Member] · http://www.GraceHead.com

Billster,

That illustration stuck with me when I heard it from Mike Wells of Abiding Live Ministries.

I guess my experience at work made it stick.

Now, the illustration is yours to keep. Use it as your own.

Ripening for the harvest,

Trent

Permalink 11/17/05 @ 07:47

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