God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
You see, if we hold back one tiny speck, we are not yielded. There are no degrees of “yieldedness.” It is all or nothing. If we say that we are yielded in every single area of our life, but are holding back in one tiny area, then we are not yielded. A burnt offering is totally burnt. You do not get a leg to keep for yourself. If we hold back one tiny speck from the Lord, we have not put our all on the altar! Others may never know, but God does. We may LOOK quite spiritual, but if we are holding back “just a little,” we are not yielded. When we put self on the altar, we are reckoning self to be dead – not sick, or lame, or almost dead, but DEAD! Death knows no degrees. We are to put our ALL on the altar.
We judge God’s love and faithfulness by how many of our desires have been met. When our desires do not materialize, our words are telling. Angry, accusing words reveal the idols in our hearts – so do selfish prayers couched in pious and deferential language. Too often, it is not God’s will that we want, but our will made possible by God.
