God’s power is associated with His principles

LIVING ON PURPOSE

By Dr. Billy Holland

Have you noticed that much of the time God works to accomplish His will, and not ours? We often wonder why certain events happen or do not happen, but when we consider that He has a certain vision and way of doing things, it can help us understand more about prayer, deeds, and faith. Does this mean that God depends on man for everything? Not necessarily. It’s true there is nothing He cannot do, but at the same time, because of His principles, He usually desires and waits for us to get involved. It’s not that He cannot do whatever He wants on His own, but He chose to develop a strategy for miracles that included working together with man’s faith.

 

As a minister, chaplain, and counselor, I speak with numerous people who need miracles, and the first thing they want to know is whether God will fix their situation. This is a difficult question, because we realize He has a plan for everyone’s journey and a perfect will that He wants His children to achieve. But, much of the time, in order for us to see Him demonstrate His power, we must take an active part in the process. Let’s look at a few examples from scripture. In I Samuel chapter 17, we read the popular story about the Philistine giant called Goliath who challenged King Saul and the army of Israel. For 40 days, He challenged Israel to send out a soldier to fight him, but they were very afraid. God had the power to squash this mighty warrior, but He wanted to teach a spiritual warfare lesson through His divine principles.

 

David made the decision to fight, and this was the demonstration God used to manifest His power to defeat the giant. What would have happened if no man had stepped forward in faith? Further, what would happen to any of us if we refused to trust and obey the Lord? The main reason why Christians do not want to talk or even think about their responsibility in spiritual warfare is that they are afraid. You see, worry is doubt, and doubt is the opposite of trust. When we are afraid to stand in faith on God’s promises, we are saying we do not trust Him and doubt he will help us. In order to see God’s miracles, we must pray and know that He is listening and that it’s time for us to step forward.

 

What about the walls of Jericho? God could have pushed them into the ground, but instead, He wanted His followers to obey His instructions first, learning the importance of obedience and timing. Remember Jesus feeding the 5000? He could have instantly given every person a deluxe seafood meal, but the principle of using His disciples to divide the fish and bread allowed them to understand that God is never too late and is always on time. As they gathered 12 baskets of leftovers after every person had eaten, they again were taught the principle of generosity and came to understand the interpretation of the passage found in Luke 6:38.

 

Even the mercy and grace of God pertaining to eternal salvation is based on principle and power. We preach His gospel, and His Holy Spirit convicts the listener. Yes, Jesus had the compassion to die on the cross and the power to be resurrected from the dead, but until someone embraces this principle and wants to be saved from their sins and to receive Him as their lord, they will not be born again. God has the authority to save every person on the planet, and the blood of Christ is certainly able to ransom them, but the spiritual principle of becoming a child of God is based on the concept found in John 3:16, “that whosoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish, but will have everlasting life.” Romans 10:13 says, “All who CALL upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 

It’s common when something goes wrong that we cry to God and wait for Him to deliver and give us a miracle, but how many know that in our desperate need, God is usually waiting for us to stand upon His promises in faith? God’s power always does His part, but His principle will not let Him also do our part! We often ask God what He’s doing, while He’s asking what are we doing? Whatever our interpretation of Matthew 18:18-20, we can agree that spiritual principles on earth are directly connected with heaven.

 

Dr. Holland is an ordained minister, chaplain, and author. Read more about the Christian faith at billyhollandministries.com.