The argument to ‘what if I do (fill in the blank) and am wrong?!’ is… ‘what if I don’t (fill in the blank) and I should have?!’ Never forget the message in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-20). Also the other phrasing of this same ‘dilemma’ – ‘is it me or is it the Lord’ holds little validity when you consider that when you accepted Jesus as Lord, the Holy Spirit came to reside in you. So the answer is ‘yes’. I must admit that I tend to believe that if it isn’t what we’re supposed to do, we do have a check in our spirit telling us this. So… what do you do?
“Jesus answered, “I told you, but you don’t believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind.” [John 10: 25-30, MSG]
(You did see the words WILL, Protected? ) Action is really based in faith and fear of failure. However, when we focus on faith we are imbued with confidence and purpose. Plus, this scripture gives us the confidence that we WILL hear the Lord’s voice. It may not be an audible voice, but we will know! Fear if failure is like shifting sand – thus easily recognized. We never should act from a fear of failure position and, in case you were wondering, it is not the ‘check’ I referred to earlier. A check is a ‘stop. consider, and confirm’ – not fear. When you put the Matthew and John verses together you really do have all the information you need to decide what you will do.
“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’ [a firm yes or no]; anything more than that comes from the evil one. ” [Matthew 5:37, AMP]
Yes or No is not stated in terms of ‘maybe’. Maybe gives no support to the action and all it does is leave confusion. ‘Maybe’ may give you the option and safety of changing your mind but it does little for your character and I’m not referring to changing your mind… it’s where your mind is in the first place. Bottom line may be… what’s your level of conviction, confidence, commitment to your yes or no?
[[The final question always comes back to You! How do you know, understand, integrate, apply what is relevant to you and your life?! Does it make any difference to you and who you are and are becoming?]]
