This morning, as I was reading 1 Chronicles 5, I felt the Lord impress upon me what is on His heart. I am penning it down in obedience, and I pray it blesses you where you are today.
The passage
1 Chronicles 5:18-26: The sons of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh had 44,700 warriors who could serve in the army, men who carried shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for war. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.
They received help against these enemies, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them BECAUSE they cried out to God in battle. He granted their request BECAUSE they trusted Him.
Verse 22 says that many of the Hagrites were killed BECAUSE it was God’s battle. And they lived there in the Hagrites’ place until the exile.
Verses 23-25 tell us that the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh settled in the land. These were heads of their ancestral houses. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their patriarchal families.
BUT they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel put it into the mind of Pul, king of Assyria, to take the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh into exile.
1. Our abilities may prepare us for the battle, but victory comes from God
The Bible throws light on the kind of people we are talking about here: brave warriors who were famous and leaders of their patriarchal families. These were men of great might. Men who were skilled and trained for war.
They battled against their enemies, but they fought with complete reliance on God. They acknowledged that although they were skilled and brave, this was God’s battle. Therefore, He would give them victory over their enemies.
And God delivered them and even settled them in the land of their enemies.
Their skills were real. Their courage was real. Their training was real. But none of these became their source. They cried out to God, trusted Him, and recognised that the battle belonged to Him.
God had given them abilities, but they did not rely on those abilities alone. Their confidence was in the One who had given them those abilities.
2. The gifts God gives us must never become substitutes for dependence on Him
Now look with me at the same passage from verses 23-25.
Did the victory get to their heads? Did they begin to attribute their success to themselves? We do not know.
But we do know this: they prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations God had destroyed before them.
What does prostitution mean?
Prostitution, as a figurative expression, means this, according to the dictionary:
The debasement, misuse, or unworthy use of one’s talents, abilities, or moral principles for financial gain or impure motives.
Who did they prostitute themselves with?
The gods of the nations God had destroyed before them.
Who were these gods?
These were gods the nations worshipped for fertility, prosperity, protection, and warfare.
They served these gods in order to gain favour so they could have many children, become financially prosperous, receive protection, and experience success in their military pursuits.
They turned away from the God who had already given them victory and began looking elsewhere for the things they desired.
This was covenant unfaithfulness. They sought from other gods what they should have continued to seek from the Lord.
The god of self
As I chewed on this, I felt the Lord impress upon my heart that the god of this age has taken a different form. It is the god of SELF.
Self-love.
Self-gratification.
Self-glorification.
We run after financial prosperity, security, and success. We put our talents and abilities to use because our goals have become centred on ourselves.
We begin relying on the skills and abilities God has given us to gratify selfish motives. We rely on our strength, our fame, our courage, and our positions to get us what we want: security, prosperity, protection, and success.
I recently read a BBC article in which a former Satanist described what Satanism really was. He said it was not primarily about consciously worshipping the devil. To him, it was about “loving yourself at the expense of others,” doing everything in one’s power to get what one wants from life, and indulging one’s desires.
He described how this bred selfishness within him, damaged those around him, and ultimately left him lonely.
This reveals something deeply significant.
Satan does not always need people to bow consciously before him. His ancient temptation is to persuade human beings to take the place that belongs to God.
The lie in the garden was:
“You will be like God.”
The temptation was to become independent of God and to determine for themselves what was good and evil.
Behind the enthroning of SELF lies the same spirit of rebellion that Satan introduced from the beginning.
This does not mean that every self-focused person is consciously worshipping Satan. But when self becomes our highest authority, when our desires determine what is right, and when we are willing to pursue what we want at the expense of others and apart from God, we begin living according to the very rebellion Satan represents.
Self becomes the authority.
Desire becomes the master.
Other people become instruments through which we get what we want.
The same temptation continues
When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Satan tempted Him in three areas. These are three areas in which every human being is tempted:
The lust of the flesh, which is appetite.
The lust of the eyes, which is possession.
The pride of life, which is power.
Satan continues to tempt us in these same areas.
And here is the revelation: behind the enthroning of SELF lies a sinister power, Satan himself.
When we fail to recognise God as the One from whom all things flow, we begin to live according to Satan’s original lie. We use our God-given talents and abilities to run after the things of this world so that we may gain security, prosperity, and success apart from dependence on God.
The issue is not merely that we want certain things. The issue is what we are willing to enthrone in order to obtain them.
Who is our source?
Who determines what is right?
Who directs how our talents and abilities are used?
3. Our gifts become fruitful when they are surrendered to God
What can we do then with our talents, abilities, skills, and gifts? Does God not want us to prosper?
I believe the Lord does want us to prosper in all we do.
In John 15:8, Jesus Himself says:
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
God desires fruitfulness in us. But He desires us to rely on Him, and not on our abilities, talents, skills, and gifts, to be fruitful.
He wants us to go to Him for wisdom about how to use the talents He has given us. He wants us to depend on Him for the strength to use our talents and abilities.
He searches our hearts and exposes our motives. He redirects us to Himself as our source.
He reveals the way ahead for us.
He opens doors of opportunity for us.
He gives us success.
He teaches us.
He guides us.
His ways are higher than ours
In Isaiah 55, we read:
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
The Bible shows us that the wicked and the unrighteous follow their own ways and their own thoughts rather than submitting them to God.
We see this contrast in Psalm 1 as well. The righteous person delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night, while the ungodly follow a path that is not rooted in God.
God calls us to turn away from self-reliance.
In the same chapter of Isaiah, we read that God’s thoughts and ways are far higher than ours. That is why He wants us to rely on Him and not on ourselves.
What are you waiting on God for?
What is it that you are waiting on the Lord for?
Perhaps it is a breakthrough in finances, provision, or employment. Perhaps you are waiting to get married or to have a child.
Whatever it may be, it is tempting to rely on self-effort, hard work, discipline, perseverance, and resilience to produce the result we desire.
There is nothing wrong with discipline, hard work, perseverance, and effort. But the danger begins when we rely on our own strength instead of acknowledging God in all that we do.
The question is not simply whether we are working hard.
The question is: Who are we relying on?
Who is leading us?
Whose purposes are our talents serving?
Returning to daily dependence
So how can we make this shift?
I believe it begins with the daily discipline of quiet time, worship, prayer, and reading His Word so that we can receive His Rhema Word for the season we are in.
There are about 7,000 promises in His Word, but the Holy Spirit is the One who shows us which one to hold on to for the season we are in.
He gives us the strategy.
Do we wait?
Do we fight?
Do we stand still?
He brings people our way to help us. He gives us His favour. He gives us His strength.
I have struggled for many years to make my quiet time a daily discipline. Some days, even the alarm clock does not motivate me to roll out of bed.
One day, I told the Lord that I desired to do this and asked whether He would wake me up at 4 a.m.
God saw the deep desire in my heart, and the next day, He woke me up exactly at that time and gave me the grace to pray.
This blog would not be here if God did not start this daily discipline in me. I still have days where I fail to keep my quiet time but He has been gracious to return me back to Him.
You see, even prayer can become more ritualistic and legalistic if we do not turn to Him for grace and strength.
I believe the Lord wants to shift our focus today away from ourselves and towards Him, so that we can use our talents and abilities in worthy ways and for His glory, as we rely on Him to meet our every need.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, You are digging deep into my soul. It is painful. It is uncomfortable. But I would rather that You deal with my heart and align me with Your will than prostitute myself in ways that bring grief to Your heart.
Forgive me, Lord, for relying on my strength, hard work, skills, and position instead of relying on You every day of my life.
Teach me to be in step with You. Teach me to wait when You ask me to wait and to move when You move.
Burn every selfish and impure motive in me, and fill me afresh with Your love and Your wisdom for every moment of my life.
Give me the grace and strength to tarry longer in Your presence, and teach me to listen for Your voice. Give me the obedience to respond when I hear You and the wisdom and strength to do what You say.
In Your precious name, Lord Jesus, amen.