Where the LORD is God!

They won’t do it. No. Your devotion and determination. Your sincerity and genuine effort. Your will and desire. They won’t do it. They won’t bring you to Christ. They won’t grant you the Holy Spirit. They won’t give you eternal life. No.

None of yourself will.

Only despair will. Despair in yourself because you know you cannot do it. And you realize your need. Yes. When you see you cannot but Christ can. Only then will you ask from the One Who can. You will ask, and you will receive. His promise of eternal life. Because He promises to give and He promises to be faithful.

So ask from Him. Knowing your poverty, that there is nothing within you that is able to make you right before Him, ask.

You must ask. To receive from Him you must ask. For you will not receive anything from the LORD until you do. And you will not ask until you know your need, your utter despair in self, your deep poverty apart from Him. It’s what enables you to ask - knowing your poverty, which enables you to receive.

And a beautiful thing happens from within the poverty of self. Not the self-declared, “I am worthless.” Not the sentiment “God must have pity on me.” Nor the statement, “I am a sinner.” But the declaration, “Jesus loves me!” And the knowing, “God accepts me as I am.” From the statement, “I am a saint.”

Humility happens. Grace happens. And Life happens.

You need only to ask and believe to follow Him.

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“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” - John 14:13-14

“…If the LORD is God, follow him…” - 1 Kings 18:21b