Presumption

That moment when you are too smart for your own good.  Yes that moment happens to all of us regardless of our gifts.  This past weekend I ran the Big D half marathon.  I ran horribly.  I was trained well enough to run a good race.  But I got in my own head.  You see, there is a danger to being accomplished in anything.  We start to trust our own knowledge and the things we've studied.  And while this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can certainly get in our way.

As I was running I was calculating my splits, as I began to  tire I quickly started to think about the lactate thresh hold that I had been reading about this past week.  I thought for sure that was happening to me.  So.. I got discouraged. Dumb! Next,  I began to reflect on my recent runs that were exactly race pace.  My 15K race the week before provided an indication that there would be no problem.  As a matter of fact I calculated that if I ran my 15K pace exactly and ran my last 3.8 miles in 34 minutes I would have run a PR.  Instead I began to doubt my training.  Then I started to worry when my legs felt like they were cramping.  Finally, I walked twice totaling a half mile which robbed me of my PR.

What I did though, was defeat myself in my own thinking at mile 8.  Why?  Because I was literally over-analyzing. At mile 10 my sister's words ran through my head, " Quit over-analyzing and just run!"  Once I did that, I completed my race just fine.  2:05.27.  This is 8 minutes slower than my best.  A race I truly had not trained properly for, but one that I clearly didn't know better. So I didn't have a chance to get in my own head.

This can often be the problem with us when we are well versed in areas of our lives.  We begin to think we know everything (presumption) and often get in our own way.  Story of my life! Sometimes we even take the things we know about God like his holiness and his grace or his expectations for us,  and we make up our own rules.  This can be very dangerous as we run the risk of becoming moralists rather than being Christians.  Moralists tend to follow rules and impose sanctions on others while losing sight of God's plan.  Jesus did not tell us to go ye therefore and judge one another.  Instead he told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel, baptizing in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit (Mark 16:15).  By presuming, we lose sight of the purpose for whatever we are doing.

When that happens and we reach that area of presumption, sometimes we need to step back and just simply ask God for guidance, wait for the answer, and be patient.  Like my race, in which I knew what to do, but instead of trusting a process (my training), I presumed I was failing, thus I employed all kinds of stupid thinking and simply defeated myself.  Pastor Joyce writes of Presumption at it's finest in both the old and new testament.  Her words are bold and give us pause. As you read today, think about areas in your life where you just "presumed" because you forgot to be patient and simply trust in the plan.

Presumption- Joyce Wyrostek April 11

God was very specific when He gave instruction to Saul, through the prophet Samuel, about how He wanted the Amalekites dealt with.  Saul did what He was commanded to do with one small twist; he made an executive decision that cost him the throne.

God knows what we do not know and when He gives a command He wants it done His way.  We do not know the hearts or obvious wickedness of the Amalekites, all we know is that judgment was pronounced against them when the Israelites were in the wilderness and it led to their ultimate destruction.  It is difficult for us in our finite wisdom to understand the righteous judgment of God so presumption could get us in trouble.

Imagine if Jesus while in the Garden of Gethsemane had decided that divine intervention would have proven to the world that God is all powerful.  In Matthew 26:53-54, when Peter came to His defense against His accusers Jesus said, “Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide me with twelve legions (about 80,000) of angels? How then should the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must come about this way?”

At any time Jesus could have asked for a plan B, but there was no other way, and He was totally

submitted to the will of God spoken in the word of God.  God has not changed and is never changing in the sovereignty of His plan for all mankind.  He has a people (those who place their total trust and faith in Jesus) in whom He has made righteous to carry out His will on earth.

If we presume to know more than God as Saul did; he chose which of the enemy should be destroyed and saved the good for a sacrifice to God. All seemed right until he heard the words, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (good luck images).” I Samuel 15:22-23

Obedience is Key!