Acknowledge Him

Isa. 46:^9-10 “Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.  Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”

God wants you to grow. If a hoping for the best person marries a hoping for the best person, there will be trouble. If ‘a planning for the worst person’ marries ‘a planning for the worst person’, there will be trouble. So regardless of what the combination is, eventually there will be trouble. So, what is the solution? The solution is, God wants each individual to grow in these two areas; grow in expecting the best out of life [hoping for the best] and grow in planning for the worst. You can have strengths, but you must have the two. When you bring the two to the table, and the other person brings their two to the table, it is stronger and powerful. God wants us to be both so that we can have margin in our lives. That is what actually creates margin in any area of life, and in any project when you expect the best and you plan for the worst.

Over the next few days, we will go through some areas of life and see how it creates margin. Having margin actually creates space. Having margin in your time, you have time to do the great things that God wants you to do in your life. Some of us do not have margin in our time. Having margin in your relationships, you are actually able to connect to the right people and enjoy the most important relationships of your life. Having margin in your finances, for instance, you are not going from payment to payment, from debt to debt. You actually have margin, you have cash, you can take opportunities as they come.

We are also going to look at three takeaways to be Battle Ready. The first is, Let God Be God. Regardless of where you are, whether you are more tilted to the person of Jesus. You always like to have devotion, pray worship, for all twenty-four hours of the day. And it is as if there should be no work. Or you are a principle of Jesus person; you just want to close that deal, move on to that next business, get that promotion, get things done and prayer, worship, fellowship seem to be an interruption. God wants you to harmonize both sides. And for that to happen, you must let God be God. So, if it is time to pray, you pray. If it is time to fellowship, you fellowship. If it is time to work, you work. Stop pretending to be God.

As a Pastor, you get pulled in different directions, and if you are not careful, you will lose all the margin in your life. The truth is, you do not need to be a Pastor to be pulled in different directions, if you are alive, you will get pulled in different directions. One of the things that really helped me years ago is, I stand in front of the mirror, and I say to myself, “God is God, and I am not”. It is very liberating. I say, ‘You are not God, you cannot solve everybody’s problem.’ The only person that needs to be there is Jesus. You can pray, you can fast, you can do what you have to do. But in the final analysis, God is God, and you are not. So, let God be God!

Prayer (song): You don’t need a man to be the God You are. But in Your mercy, You’ve called us Your own. You are God from beginning to the end, there’s no place for argument… Amen!