God’s Part and Our Part

David said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). If you are always in want, then maybe the Lord is not yet your shepherd. If He really is your shepherd, then you will find satisfaction and fulfillment in Him.

The apostle Paul’s contentment came as a result of his close and intimate fellowship with Jesus, which allowed him to be lifted above his circumstances. It gave him the strength to deal with whatever came his way. He wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Paul was essentially saying, “No matter what comes my way, I can do it through Christ.” This is a great balance, because it shows us our part and God’s part. Paul wasn’t saying that the Christian should do everything for himself or herself. Nor was he saying that God will do everything for the Christian. God will do certain things, and then we must respond to the things that He does.

The power and resources are there, but we must appropriate them. God has given us the strength to be the men and women He calls us to be, but we must appropriate it.

Only God can enable, but only we can yield. Only God can guide, but only we can follow. Only God can convict us of our sins, but only we can repent of them. God won’t step over the boundary of our free will and make us do what He wants us to do. If He did, then we would be nothing more than robots. But because He wants us to act out of our own free will, He initiates, and we must respond to what He is doing.

It is God who is working, but we must yield to Him.