May 25, 2018
By Brenda Rankhorn
Thus far, we have determined that our purpose, our goal is to glorify God and in order to obtain that goal, we must focus on God so that we can leave our hindrances behind. Some of us may say, “I know what I’m supposed to do—look to Jesus—but that is easier said than done. I have so many thoughts creeping in.” This could be another whole topic in itself but I don’t want to leave you with the great idea of focusing on God without some tools. I will touch on these and you can study them more in depth at your leisure.
The first thing to remember is that we are not babies. We are warriors. I like how one author stated it, “we were born in a war zone, not a maternity ward.” We can fight. We don’t have to passively accept everything that is fed to us. We are warriors. Let’s read II Corinthians 10:4-5: “4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” So our first tool is to take thoughts captive. A thought comes in and we get to choose what we do with it. We don’t have to invite it into our house and give it a place at our table. Analyze the thought and decide if this thought is hindering you from glorifying God. Tie it up, give it to God. Refocus on our King of Kings.
A second tool is to resist the devil. Because we are warriors and we are given weapons, we can resist the devil. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Tell the devil to go and take his lies about your identity, your past, and your fears with him. What did Jesus use to resist the devil? Scripture. This makes it very important to know the Word. If you know that there are certain hindrances that you are prone to, then memorize scriptures to use when those thoughts come. Quote the truth of those scriptures until the devil leaves you alone.
So besides taking the thoughts captive and resisting the devil, we can praise the Lord, which is our third tool. How often have you tried to quit thinking about something and the harder your tried, the more you thought about it? (“I’m not going to eat one of those warm fresh chocolate chip cookies. It is not good for me to eat those even if they do smell good.” How well are you doing at not thinking of those cookies?) The same goes with trying not to think of your past, your pain, your fears, your identity and so on.
What you need to do is refocus. There is much power in praising God. Remember the story of Paul and Silas in jail? While they were praising God, there was an earthquake, doors were opened, and prisoners were loosed. (Acts 16:25-34) We become free when we praise God! There is also a story in the Old Testament, in II Chronicles 20, about praise defeating the enemy. When the enemy came against God’s people, God commanded King Jehoshaphat to send his singers out to sing and praise God instead of sending out the warriors. The result—God sent ambushes and the enemy was defeated. When you find yourself thinking about your struggles, your problems, your desires, your faults, or any other hindrance that keeps you from glorifying God, just praise the Lord. If you have trouble knowing how to praise the Lord then go to the Psalms and just read some of those as your own praise to God. I’m sure David won’t mind.
And the final tool is simply to ask to see and understand God, to see God’s glory. I like Moses. Yes, he made a lot of excuses at first, but he did obey. Later in Exodus 33:18, he asks God to show His glory to him. He asks this not long after the golden calf incident. After a long discussion with God, Moses says, (Ex.33:18) “Please show me your glory.” He knows understanding God’s character is all he needs to continue glorifying God by leading the people as God has asked. Paul also asks this in Ephesians 1:15-19, “15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.” The more we “see” of God, the more we want to pour out our life for Him. “Ask and you shall receive” (Matt. 7:7). We can tell God, “I want to see You so that I can reflect You.” When we truly understand God’s greatness, then we should have no problem saying, “It doesn’t matter who I am, I have seen God and I know what He can do. That is good enough for me.”
These tools—to take our thoughts captive, to resist the devil, to praise the Lord, and to ask to see God—will help us to focus on God which will in turn cause us to drop our hindrances and run the race marked out for us. Our goal is to glorify God. Are we going to allow hindrances to keep us from this goal? If not, make a plan and stick with it. No more going through life on autopilot. Just as I could look at my blackened greasy hands and recall the bad memories and allow them to prevent an enjoyable bike ride, so too can we all choose to look at our past, remember our inadequacies, or dwell on our feelings and allow them to prevent us from glorifying God. Or just as I had the other choice of looking at my ring and reminding myself of my husband’s love for me which would free me to enjoy my longer bike ride, so too can we choose to look to Jesus and remind ourselves of all His promises and of His wonderful love for us and allow that to stir us to glorify Him in all that we do and say.
Just like I did not let the past, my feelings, and my incompetency at fixing a bike chain prevent me from completing my planned bike ride, I urge you not to let your identity, feelings, and past prevent you from taking every opportunity to glorify God. In every circumstance, whether good or bad, we must ask ourselves, “Will I choose God over self?” Choosing to glorify God not only changes what we do, but how we do it. It changes our whole attitude and outlook on life. When we choose to focus on God, we glorify Him. May God grant us the strength and the will to choose to glorify Him in all that we do.
Adapted from a workshop series written and delivered by: Brenda Rankhorn of Shepherd’s Fold Ministry for the Appalachian Association Women’s Retreat held at Camp Joy in September 2017.
