"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight" (Isaiah 5:21).
Many of us have been trained to make decisions and
respond to problems in a horizontal way instead of vertical. Operating from a
horizontal basis means we try to fix the problem through our own self-efforts
by bringing greater pressure upon it through our reasoning or our natural
skills. Operating from a vertical position means we are seeking God for the
answer and waiting for him to impact the problem. Perhaps it is a spouse who
fails to put their clothes away, or a boss who is overly critical, or an
employee that you clash with. When we operate horizontally we attempt to shame
or coerce the other to change their ways.
God knows the solution to the problem before it ever
exists. Our responsibility is to ask God for help to solve the problem and to
rely on Him for the outcome. The minute we take on the responsibility, God
quietly stands by to let us experience failure until we decide to seek Him for
the answer.
One of the best examples of the contrast between a
vertical and horizontal dimension in scripture is that of King Saul and David
(see 1 Samuel 25). King Saul thought the way to preserve his kingdom was to
kill David. While in pursuit of him there were several occasions when David had
the opportunity to kill Saul, but David chose to wait upon God's timing and
await his own deliverance because he understood authority. David had such
respect for those who had been put in authority by God over him that he would
not take matters into his own hands.
Saul represents the exact opposite of this principle. He
thought David was the problem and sought to get rid of him through force. As a
result, he lost his kingdom because he chose to rule horizontally instead of
vertically under God's rule in his life.
No matter what problem you face today, stay vertical with
God.
No comments:
Post a Comment