For Who By Himself?

1 Kings 3:9  "Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?"

Today I posted an update on Twitter which said "If I had everything I needed to complete the Task then I can say 'Yes I did it!' But if I don't have anything then I can say 'Yes God did it!'" Minutes later I came across this scripture in my devotion and was reminded by the Holy Spirit that I desperately need Him! We desperately need Him! "For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?"

Pastors! Leaders! People in authority! We need to remember that we can't do it on our own. We can try and even become successful in the worlds viewpoint. We can hand out thousands of fliers or mailers.  We can even have huge events with major bands and the top games for kids.  And yes the church will grow in numbers; everybody loves free stuff. The bible even says, "The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends" (Proverbs 14:20). Spiritual success can only come from the Spirit and we need his guidance and direction in order to successfully lead people, His Great people!

The Holy Spirit is real! And He is here with us.  Jesus went to Heaven to prepare a place for us but His Spirit still remains! We need to pull on the Holy Spirit.  We need to talk to him knowing that He is a real living Spirit! So many times throughout the Bible during a time of defeat the Bible will state, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and then he came out victorious!" We can live life too much by the decisions of the flesh, but we need to start making them by the spirit because it is of the spirit which is permanent.

My wife and I were asked to help care for two boys temporarily back in August. We said yes immediately, but then became flooded with fleshy reasoning.  How can we raise two grown boys? How can we provide for them? Thought after thought ran around our minds. A whole conference was happening in our heads, until we let the Spirit run the meeting and quiet those voices.  I can say now that we are happy we made that choice.  These boys have become like sons to us in the faith and we're seeing them grow into mature men of God. The are becoming responsible and building the Kingdom of Heaven. We don't always have the resources we need, but God has never left us in need.

Don't give up on the task that God has put before you! You're doing a GREAT job and you have GREAT people, His people! Let the Spirit of the Lord come upon you and keep fighting strong! Get your victories! Seek after Him for an understanding heart to know the difference between right and wrong and to govern His people the way He wants you to! For all who seek will soon find!

You are not alone.  You need his Spirit!

For who by himself?

What is your story?: Have you found yourself trying to lead or do things on your own and come to a point where you realized you desperately needed His Spirit?