Relent!
z RELENT! z
I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please Him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you. In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh [this present world]. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what He wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed. ~ Romans 12:1-2 (CJB)
Are you having a tough time discerning the will of God for your life? Maybe the problem lies in your ‘presenting’. Many Bible translations read: ‘present your bodies as a living sacrifice’. The Greek word is parastemi. It is a compound word meaning ‘para’ – to be in the vicinity of, to be before, beside or nigh unto AND ‘histemi’ – to stand, to abide or to continue.
In a nutshell, Paul tells us the secret of knowing His will. We must ‘stand before, give presently, continue in being at hand and yielding ourselves’ to the Father. This is of utmost importance if we are to ‘know what God wants and agree that it is good, acceptable and able to succeed’.
The Amplified version of Proverbs 16:3 reads:
Roll your works upon the LORD [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.
That is a pretty powerful declaration!
And as Followers in The Way, we can be confident that whether inside His perfect or permissive will, He is The Sovereign Elohim governing the good, bad, ugly and thoughtlessness of our lives. In His permissive will, it just takes our plans (HIS plans) a little longer to achieve success! HE has all the time in the world, we do not.
I offer to you today something I use as a reminder for myself in seeking His best for my everyday:
RELENT! (Give Up!) REPENT! (Turn Back!) RECEIVE! (Take Hold!) and finally ACHIEVE! (Mission accomplished!)
I am beginning to understand that this has to be a part of my everyday living because I cannot achieve success until I have received something; and I cannot receive until I have turned back (around) to the Giver of what is good; and I cannot turn back until I have given up my futile plans for Carmen. This discipline is all about learning to TRUST HIM with what He has already written. HIS plans are eternally good, overwhelmingly satisfying and oh, so able to succeed!
Father God, forgive us when we do not trust You fully. Thank You, Abba Yahweh, for your GREAT PATIENCE with us and ETERNAL LOVE for us! Help us in ‘our presenting’ that we may SEE what is truly good, satisfying and able to succeed. We love You and we praise Your wonderful works! Baruch Ha Shem ADONAI…BLESSED be Your Name, O LORD!!
lori
September 30, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
Hey there!
I’ve been doing some research on Rosh Hashanah and digging deeper….:)
You inspire me so much!
hugs!
lori
Kathryn
September 30, 2008 @ 8:30 pm
Amen, Carmen! I had a similar post today, but not nearly as authentic and informative as yours! 🙂
Tamara "Tami"
September 30, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
Carmen, great post!
I love the- Relent, Repent, Receive and Achieve. Good stuff sister! I have yet to check out the link but will!
Bless you! ;^)
Julie
October 1, 2008 @ 2:57 pm
Welcome to the Cafe’ writing team…
We’re glad to have you with us….
Julie
Darlene
October 1, 2008 @ 7:23 pm
I heard you joined the internet cafe! They sure know how to pic ’em. 🙂
Joyfulsister
October 2, 2008 @ 1:50 pm
Hi Carmen,
Just dropped by to say Aloha from sunny Honolulu, Hawaii. *smile* I was visitng someones blog and saw your button. What a blessed blog, and I will also leave a prayer request if you don’t mind.
I will be attending our Women’s Spiritual Retreat, leading in praise and Worship with my husband and team, also I will leading a workshop on Spiritul Warfare. Please say a special prayer that the Lord will have his way, and that we will prevail in victory in all that the Lord calls us to do for such a time as these. For healing, refreshing, restoration, and transfomation.
Thank you so much..
Lorie
Carol
October 2, 2008 @ 1:50 pm
Good stuff and welcome to the cafe. I’ve got a cup of java waiting on you.
JesusRulzMe
October 3, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
Hi Carmen!
Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve stopped by! But I’m sure glad I did!
I hate to rush through any of your posts b/c they’re so rich with God’s truth! So I like to stop by when I have ample time…like today.
I’ve just printed this out and will be meditating on it. I’m constantly interested in the Jewish roots or our faith!
I’m so thankful for your faithfulness!
I’m so glad God made us sisters!
Bless you,
Sunny