“How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.”
Psalms 40:4
Thomas Jefferson was a Deist. This means that he believes that God created the earth, created all of the animals and even Adam. But, then God took a step back and let the earth take care of itself. Any intrusion of God into the world after creation would not be necessary as nature and science bespoke His handiwork. Therefore, anything supernatural would not be necessary to bring one to an understanding of God. As a result, Thomas Jefferson took a razor and cut out anything supernatural out of his Bible.
Too often we sit back and consider God to still be remote. Even though we speak so heavily about Him being a relational God and even though we speak of His Son having first-hand knowledge of our plight, we still feel like we need to make our own decisions, like we are on our own. Then we rationalize our actions by making cryptic quotes, like “As long as I am working for the will of God it doesn’t matter what I do”. Do we really not believe that God has a specific goal for us? Do we really believe that the Creator who knows how many hairs are on each and every person’s head has no specific goals in mind when creating us?
Part of pride is relying on ourselves and our knowledge instead of seeking God’s direction. Part of ignorance is relying upon what we can see and feel instead of relying on the power of our Creator. Part of being a hypocrite is saying you trust in the direction of God but never allowing Him to take the lead. Relying on someone else’s power is never easy. It leaves us too open, to vulnerable to pain and potential failure. But part of being a successful Christian is admitting that you do not know, humbling yourself before Him, and seeking His way. Sometimes God has to allow bad things to happen so we can learn to trust in Him rather than in ourselves.
• A disciple never relies on his own knowledge or experience to guide him but trusts in the Lord always
Application: Who am I relying on to guide my moves? Do I seek supernatural assistance or do I consider God to be remote?