I have been studying Revelation and am right now going through the Churches. I found it interesting that the Church of Smyrna and Philadelphia were not rebuked by Christ. I believe it is because they were under persecution and in order to survive they relied solely on God. In contrast, the Church of Laodicea was only rebuked. Jesus had no commendation for them. They were so prosperous by worldly standards, they did not feel they needed God.
Are you in a position of need before God? A position of dependency, no matter the issue, whether it be health, finances or relationships? Then you ought to glory in your position because at least you can recognize your need before God. But if you are in a place of self-sufficiency, you should find yourself in a place of humiliation in your low position because of the fragility of worldly possessions. James 1:9-11 puts it this way:
“But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.”
This is why the Apostle Paul had, a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). It says in that passage that he asked three times for God to take it away. In fact, it says he pleaded with God to take away this problem. But God said to him each time, no, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Therefore Paul says, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Is there something in your life that you want God to step in and change? And no matter how much you pray about it and how sincere your prayer is and how many people you get on the prayer chain to pray for it the issue never gets resolved. Could it be rather than thinking God is your enemy, could it be that very thing is a gift. Maybe it’s helping you recognize your dependence upon God. As we walk in dependence upon God, may we be a pliable and usable vessel.
First and foremost for God to use you, you must be born again. How do you do that? Act 16:31 says:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”
In Christ,
Rohn
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