The second of the twelve steps declares that we came to believe in a power greater than ourselves who can restore us to… fill in the blank. The third step boldly declares that we have turned our will and life over to the care of God as we understood… or, came to believe in… Him. How is this proven to be true in your life? Why would you not fully surrender all in your life of faith if you fully believe in God’s promised best for you?
The following are two credible translations of the same Scripture. Please consider the loaded questions following the first translation. Then notice how the meaning changes dramatically from the first translation of the Scripture to the second.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Romans 12:2-3 (NKJV)
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Romans 12:3 (NIV)
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What does it really mean to say that I came to believe in a power greater than myself; or that I came to believe in God; or that I have faith in God?
- How much faith do I have in God?
- What does it mean to have received from God a measure of faith?
- How much do I believe?
- Do I fully believe? Am I confident in my faith?
- What does it really mean that I have surrendered my life to the will and plan of God?
- Am I really committed… entirely committed… to pleasing and serving God?
- What does that look like? What does that sound like? What does that feel like?
- What am I doing today that reflects my belief… faith… surrender… commitment… to pleasing and serving God because I believe fully and entirely, with a full measure of faith, in God’s will and plan for my life?
- What am I thinking and imagining that reflects the truth of my belief, faith, surrender, and commitment? Or does my behavior and imagination express and expose who I am, what I am, and where I am when it comes to the truth that lies in these questions?
I am very uncomfortable personally with these questions; not in asking them of you the reader, but in responding to them from an honest place in my own heart, mind, and soul.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Romans 12:2-3 (NLT)
As your spiritual teacher I give this piece of advice to each one of you. Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all. Romans 12:3 (Phillips New Testament)
When I examine the New Living Translation (NLT) and Phillips New Testament of the same passage from Romans it appears to read quite differently than the New King James Version (NKJV) and the New International Version (NIV).
I have an uncomfortable feeling that Phillips and NLT might have it right. Why would God give to me less faith than He would give you; or you less faith than He would “distribute” to me? Does that even make sense? While we are gifted differently have been called to serve differently, and have experienced varying degrees of revelation into deeper knowledge perhaps, it doesn’t seem to make sense that God, who is impartial according to Scripture, would dole out various measures of faith as it pertains to knowing, through relationship with Jesus Christ, Almighty God.
What does make sense is that as God imparts to me faith by revelation of Himself to my mind, my heart, and my soul, that I would by my choice decide how to invest myself into the full abundant life God has chosen to bless me with. What does make sense is that I choose the degree to which I want to surrender my life and intentions over to the plan God has revealed to me about the new life He wants and has for me to experience.
Should I sow the seed of new life into everything I am and do, I will reap a harvest of blessing. Should I sow the seed of new life sparingly or with some reservation, holding back some, I will reap sparingly or with at least some degree of reservation the blessing that God wants to lavish on me without reservation, sparing nothing (if it were up to Him but He has afforded me the choice).
Expectations about Faith
The question that is most discomforting to me is not, “How much do I believe?” or “How much faith do I have?” The question is not even, “Do I believe?” Because I do. The question is, “Will I let go of what I want, and choose to receive what God wants and has for me?”
As you read this, the first question for you might be, “Do you believe?” And if you do, you are in the same boat I am. Are you willing? Will you let go of what you want, and choose what God wants and has for you? Don’t be so quick to answer. If your answer is yes then your life should reflect your answer through and through. How confident are you when you pray? What is the level or degree of your faith?
If I am being honest, I have substantially more confidence that God will bless you in the miraculous than I believe He will bless me. Not because I don’t believe God can bless me that way. But because I am in a hurry according to my standards and according to what I suppose I believe I deserve. I think my problem with belief and faith has a great deal to do with my sense of entitlement. I deserve what I want and believe that I need as soon as possible.
Faith in the flesh… what a concept. While it is an obvious contradiction, perhaps it is as much a paradox. James writes in chapter four that my problem with what appears to be the absence of blessing is the absence of my desires and motivations lining up with what God wants and has for me. The tragedy in that is that what God wants and has for me is His very best.
Desiring God’s Best
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalm 37:4 (NLT)
Often times this passage in Psalm 37 is taken grossly out of context. Even when it’s interpreted that if I am walking in the will of God He will bless the desire of my heart, it is misleading. My heart is still selfish, particularly when the heat is turned up. When I am transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2), taken in proper context, God has rearranged my thinking to want and be willing to receive what He wants and has for me. In other words, He has transformed my wants by putting His desires and motivations deep within me, giving me my heart’s desires – His desires.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
When I am motivated to seek first God’s best through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, God is more than happy and willing to add to my life the experience of His best. His best for my life will be a blessing to anyone who is touched by my life.
J.B. Phillips in his translation perhaps says it best.
Set your heart on the kingdom and his goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course. Matthew 6:33 (Phillips New Testament)
This is an incredible promise of blessing that brings this next passage to life.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)… or as J.B. Phillips translates … dare to ask or imagine.
Okay, now we’re getting carried away. It all sounds good, but come on.
What’s the problem here?
The problem is that God’s best is too good to be true to be experienced in this life on this side of eternity. Just allow me to relax and do whatever it is that I do. Don’t put too much on my plate. I need my television time. I need my down time… my alone time to unwind and decompress. I need my sleep. I’m not being sarcastic, this is how I think. I want to be lazy, disrespectful of the call of God to really dig in to what He wants and has for me to pierce and feed my soul. I want God’s best so long as I can do my thing my own way in my own time.
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:4-13 (NLT)
Really… is this poetic hyperbole? No. This is the real deal! I don’t have to like it but here’s the thing. If I really knew and understood what I was missing, missing out on God’s best, I would drop every shallow and dissatisfying routine that sabotages what I can enjoy in the joy of the Lord, so that I could experience life in the best of what God wants and has for me.
- What would you say are the differences in the translations concerning Romans 12:3 between a sober examination of yourself according to the measure of faith God has given you, and measuring yourself with a clear mind according to the light of faith turned on in your life?
- This notion that our faith is measured against what we believe we deserve might be a new concept. What does that mean to you? How might you agree or disagree with the notion of entitlement altering the measurement of a person’s faith?
- I suggested that our faith maybe rooted in selfish deception, referring to this as “faith in the flesh”. In other words, we deceive ourselves into measuring how we’ve been blessed according to what we believe we deserve. What our your thoughts regarding this matter of faith in the flesh?
- James writes that we receive not because we ask not, and when we ask, our motives are selfish. How does this speak to the issue of faith according to what we want in the flesh, and how we hope to be blessed according to what we want and feel we deserve?
- On a scale of 1-10 (10 high), how would you say to yourself you have been blessed in your life?
- Being honest with yourself, on a scale of 1-10, how would you say you have received and/or experienced what you want in your life?
- What are some of the things you would say that you want and need that is missing or lacking that you are believing God for?
- What has it meant to you that upon delighting in the Lord that He will give you the desires of your heart?
- What does it mean to you that God working in you can be accomplishment beyond your imagination?
- To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness is to seek His best for your life each and every day. How do you and don’t you seek first God’s best?
- How can you apply the truth of Philippians 4:4-13 to seeking and enjoying God’s best, living in His peace?
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