Adonai - Week 4

This week in the on-line Bible study I am participating in (see above) we focused on the name of God, "Adonai" - which means Lord. Jesus is to be our Lord and Master.

The key text we read from in today's study was Nehemiah 4:7-8, 10-14.
The enemy is trying to force his way into the gaps so he can destroy our homes, families, and churches. We have to submit to Jesus' Lordship and fight for our families. And when we are tired, the Lord is fighting for us, and His people fight for us through prayer. We find strength to fight when we remember the Lord who is great and awesome. He is the one who called us, He is the one who created and sustains our families, our homes, and our churches.

Today's discussion question is, who is master of my life, who am I allowing to rule over me?
This question is heavy; I hope to say that God is my Master and the one ruling every part of my life. But as I step back and examine what one thing motivates me, I see that there is a struggle with another master - the master of who I am supposed to be.Who I think I am supposed to be, whether in God's eyes or people's. I have always been a people-pleaser, trying to make others happy. Unfortunately I have often carried that desire for approval into my relationship with God. I try to do my best in everything, whether to meet my own self-set goals, to do what I think will make others feel good about me, or to do what I think will make God approve of me. I can never please everyone, and I can't ever meet all the goals I set for myself, and I can't even do all the things I think God would be pleased with me if I do, so of course this releases a constant stream of guilt.
God has been revealing this tendency to me for a long time, and it's something I continue to work through with Him. I'm thankful for this topic today to remind me again to let it go. I can't please God through anything I can do or be. I certainly can't always please people. (When I do try to please people, I often end up compromising who or what are most important in my life). This drive for approval comes from FEAR and not love.
God LOVES me, and that's why He sent His Son to do all that I could not do. When I rest in that, that love is enough to drive out all my fear (1 John 4:18).
So once again, I am letting go of that "need" to win the approval of God and people. God already approves of me because of what His Son did for me. And His is the only approval I need. I want to stop allowing the fear of what others think to control me. The only way I can please God now is through trusting in Him and resting in Him - which means going with the flow of His Spirit and moving where He is leading me. And that means I have to often go against what people want from me. I have to go with Him. In that comes fighting for my family and my home, and that often means I can't please everyone else. I don't want the enemy using people or fear to come into the gaps in my family anymore. I want to "remember the Lord" and fight!