What God has Entrusted to Us
Hi there! As I contemplated what my first post should be I decided since I talk about living a yielded life, it would be best to first lay a biblical foundation to make sure we understand to whom and to what we are yielding, and to know what God has entrusted to us. So let’s go back to the beginning where it all began, shall we.
‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. ‘
Genesis 1:1-2 ESV
As we read through the story of creation, man was God’s final creation. After God created man, he looked at all he had created and saw that it was very good. So God rested on the seventh day. Please read through all of chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis for the full creation story as I am only highlighting here to lay a foundation.
‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ‘
Genesis 1:26-28
Psalm 24:1-2 also says:
‘ The earth is the Lord ’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. ‘
The Bible makes it clear that God is the creator and that God has absolute rights of ownership over all things which means anything we have does not even belong to us. God created man, put him in the garden and gave him work to do. The resources that we use to create or build something all belongs to God. We are not the originators, but we are created beings. Our very breath comes from God.
Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.
– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Because of Adam’s sin, man fell out of proper alignment with God. However, God sent his only begotten Son, in the person of Jesus Christ, to redeem what the first Adam had lost (man’s authority and proper alignment with God).
As believers in Jesus Christ, and children of the most High God, we are stewards and trustees (not owners) of our lives, and as such, we are required to be found faithful to God in every aspect of our life.
“So let each one think of us in this way—as Messiah’s helpers and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, what is required of stewards is to be found trustworthy.”
1 Corinthians 4:1–2 (TLV)
Being faithful stewards means that we fully acknowledge we are not our own but belong to Christ, the Lord, who gave himself for us.
Stewardship defines our practical obedience in the administration of everything under our control, everything entrusted to us. It acknowledges that we do not have the right of control over ourselves or our property—God has that control. As stewards of the God we are managers of what belongs to him, and we are under his authority as we administer his affairs.
A CALL TO ACTION:
What does stewardship look like in your life? What areas have you stewarded well and what areas do you need to steward better? If your list is long, keep it simple and pick one. Always ask the Holy Spirit for help and guidance. When you’ve become a better steward over an area add another area and keep adding until you have completely yielded every area and are walking in full obedience to what God has entrusted to you.
