After an Encounter Sample

Day 2: Doing Your Part – Personal Responsibility

Paul made two statements in his letter to the Galatians that appear to be contradictory:

Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:5 (NIV)

For each one should carry their own load.

Verse 2 brings us the hope of help in our time of need. There are burdens in life that are simply too much for us to bear alone - such as divorce, major illness, death, severe financial stress. In these situations, we should feel we can depend on the family of God for support.

Verse 5, however directs us toward spiritual maturity and personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is essential to maturation. We can’t expect others to carry us along or even push us along spiritually. There comes a place when we take hold of God’s promises for ourselves and follow after Him regardless of what others do.

In the book of Genesis, we read that Terah, father of Abram (Abraham) set out for the land of Canaan. We learn later that God’s will for Abraham and his descendants was that Canaan was to be their promised land and permanent home. It appears that Terah may have known this as well, but he failed to complete the journey.

Genesis 11:31-32 (NLT)

One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

After his father’s death, Abram heard directly from God:

Genesis 12:1 (AMP)

Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

“Go for yourself” is what God said to Abram and these words ring true for us today. Go for yourself – be self-motivated to follow after God.

David and his army suffered tremendous loss at the hands of their enemies. Their village was ransacked and their women and children and all of their livestock had been carried off. It was the lowest point of David’s life, yet we read these inspiring words:

1 Samuel 30:6 (AMP)

David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

What David did that day was far above positive thinking. David began to rehearse in his mind all the thoughts he knew of God’s goodness and greatness. As the events that followed show us, David didn’t need long before he was back on top and full of faith and power.

We have the power to take personal responsibility for our moods and thoughts, attitudes and actions and the words that we speak. We all can encourage and strengthen ourselves in the Lord. We need not be controlled by our circumstances, in fact, circumstances often change when we step out in faith.

Consider your circumstances and relationships. No one has a perfect life, and we do not live in a perfect world. All of us have burdens that we must bear and life challenges we have to negotiate.

Write down the circumstances and relationships that concern you most.

Now, take a step of faith and declare God’s power and goodness over what you have written.

Perhaps take a little extra time and discover a few promises from God’s Word that are applicable to your situation.

Write them down, declare them out loud, if you will, and encourage yourself in the Lord your God.