July 31: Till You Are Entirely His

Imagine a skeptic as he scans today's reading. He would start to shake his head, his eyes growing big with disbelief, until he reads the end, "Watch the slipshod bit....Whatever it is, God will point it out with persistence until we are entirely His." At this point, he would probably start to back away, muttering something about, "You people are crazy! Why in the world do you want to let God make you His slave?"

Then imagine his utter amazement if you have grown to the point where you can stun him with the paradox, "Ahhh, because when you know the truth, it sets you totally free!" John 8:32.

The theme of the James 1:2-12 scripture passage is 'the purpose of testing in the life of a believer.' The verse before the one that Chambers quotes is "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds..." The verses after say, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God....But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt..." We certainly have to ask for supernatural wisdom before we can embrace the idea that we must strive for total obedience before we can grow spiritually and become "mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:3 NIV.

Jesus, please help us resist our natural inclination to compare ourselves with other people and accept less than You want us to be. Whenever You are directing our paths, help us not lean on our own intellect and understanding, but trust in You with all our hearts so that we can become the best that we can be. Proverbs 3:5-6.