Years ago my mother fell and broke her hip. She tells the story of her lying in bed in the early weeks of recovery and having to get up ... urgently. She realized ... she couldn't. She didn't want to wake Dad, so, as she was wont to do, she cried out to God. "Please, Father, help me to get up and get there." She told me she heard a voice (in her head) that clearly said, "Who did you think was getting you there in the past?" We're a funny people, we Christians. We think that we're pretty capable when the fundamental basis of our salvation is that we're not. Lots of Christians think they have a major role in most everything in their lives and, in fact, they are kind of miffed if they think God is interfering. "Of course I get myself dressed and take care of my family and get myself to work and all that. I don't need GOD for that."
In his epistle to the church at Colossae, Paul says, "He (Christ) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Col 1:17) The Greek word translated "hold together" or "consist" means to be constituted, to be held in existence. It's what the philosophers call "ontological language." Ontology is the branch of metaphysics that deals with the nature of being. "All things" that exist are "held together" in Him. And the tense is present. The language says that the ongoing existence of ... everything is in Christ. The author of Hebrews says He "upholds all things by the word of His power" (Heb 1:3). Ongoing ... present tense. The imagery is that of God holding everything in His hand and actively holding it together. If He lets go ... it ceases to be.
He is the origin of all things and the sustainer of all things. He is the "organizing principle" of all creation. When He "introduced Himself" at the burning bush to Moses, He called Himself, "I AM WHO I AM," literally "existence." He is the one and only self-existent one. He is the "first cause." The rest of us are effects, results of His creation. The rest of us all hold together in Him. And lest you think at some point that you're doing fine without Him at this moment, think again. If He didn't hold you in His hand, you wouldn't just fail ... you'd cease to exist. Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Conversely, He "is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (Eph 3:20). Just keep that in mind. It's Him, not us ... and He is utterly capable.
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Unless of course it comes to salvation, that's certainly where we have a part to play, right? We can't even let God have all the glory in salvation, we have to insert ourselves as the fundamental decider of our salvation, and if the fundamental decider, that necessarily makes us the fundamental effector. God's Sovereignty over everything gives Him the glory for everything. Praise God for what He gives, and takes away.
I hear that “voice” in my head, too … a lot. It’s a running dialog between “Mindful Me” and “Forgetful Me.” They both know God, but one keeps forgetting that “… He gives to all life, breath, and all things” and “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:25, 27). The older I get, the more clearly I see my diminishing competence in vast contrast to His unfailing capability. Throughout those conversations in my head, the Holy Spirit is quick to remind me how much I truly need the Lord for all things--now and until the moment I take my last breath and my heart stops beating. He will sustain me to the end … and He will not miss a beat.
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