The Big 5Sample

Day 8: I Am Responsible for Me

Today, I want to share a principle, a belief, that has the potential to unlock victory in your life.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He commanded His disciples to roll away the stone and then “loose [Lazarus], and let him go” (John 11:37, 44, NKJV). In this story, Jesus did the heavy lifting. He called forth Lazarus to come back to life. But, the disciples were given the choice to respond to Jesus or not. Their job was to move the stone and then unwrap the graveclothes.

You see, God is always willing to do the heavy lifting, but He’s looking for someone on this Earth to partner with. You are responsible for you, and I am responsible for me. We can’t blame everyone else for what is not working in our lives.

You won’t see God move in your life through someone else’s faith. People will pray for you, but God knocks on the door of your heart. God will arrange things in your life, but He’s waiting for you to say yes to a partnership with Him. In fact, James goes as far as to ask, “Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless” (James 2:20, NLT)? Faith alone is just mere words without action.

What God is really asking us to do is to respond to faith, and “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17, NKJV). After we receive faith, we first must respond to the deposit and then become responsible to the Word. To become the person He’s called us to be and reach the place He’s leading us to, we must actively partner with that Rhema Word, saying “yes” to God at every step along the way.

So, that first step is simple: get faith. We do this by staying plugged into our Power Source, praying, praising, reading the Word, and fellowshipping with other believers.

When we believe it’s all on God and we don’t have a part to play we begin to live a life of skepticism and blame. We begin believing God is not Good. We begin believing we don’t have Purpose. We begin believing impossible things are not possible.

The truth is that faith deposited in our hearts is an opportunity to partner with God. He desires for us to act upon what He’s given us. When we take simple steps of obedience regarding what we do know to be Truth in His Word those actions firm up our belief. The simple things like choosing to pray, give, serve, and love others begin to develop attitudes of God’s Goodness, an individual sense of Purpose, and a miracle-working God. Those attitudes come from belief.

What we really believe is revealed through our life. When we believe we don’t have a part to play we live as victims. When we partner with God we live in victory.

Where does responsibility in your Christian walk lie? Is it all up to God or do you have a part to play? Do you have a responsibility? Sometimes our experiences, the opinions of others, and knowledge we gain will tell us it’s someone else’s fault. When we develop personal responsibility to find agreement with God’s Word and begin living it out even when we don’t feel like it we will find true Freedom - the Freedom and Victory Jesus fought for on the Cross for each of our lives.

Make this your declaration today: I am responsible for me!