But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness are like filthy rags; Isaiah 64:6b
The Lord is so gracious that He will put us in situations to test our hearts and our righteousness. Generally, if one’s righteousness is not based on faith, their actions or behavior is dependent upon favorable circumstances!! How will we respond if the promises made to us haven’t come to fruition? Do we start going to work late? Do we get unreliable with our promises to others? Do we only work diligently if someone is watching? Do we start gossiping about the ones who are having success?
The Lord will take us through a process to humble us, guiding us to see ourselves clearly in the mirror of His truth. He’ll help us stop asking our demanding and cynical questions, developing a simpler trust in Him. This simpler trust leads us to the point that we don’t need to know the outcome to follow Him!
He will purge us of self-righteousness until we enter into a faith atmosphere and breathe vision, hope, love, life, & truth. Our focus has changed from looking at ourselves in the mirror, to lifting our eyes and putting them on Him who is the author and the finisher of our faith.
The scripture tells us that, “He who began a good work in you, will bring it into completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. Philippians 1:6b
When we have a greater revelation of who God is, and what He has done for us, it shuts our mouth, brings us to our knees, and opens our hearts. We develop gratefulness to the one who holds our life together from the beginning to the end.
One of the main differences between righteousness of the Old Testament versus the New Testament is the presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. We don’t just have a list of dos and don’ts, but we have the Holy Spirit who is our enabler, guide and counselor. He instructs us on how and when to apply a certain scripture in a given situation. We’re not shooting in the dark, but we see clearly. We have accuracy because of the leading of the Holy Spirit.
For example, giving is greatly encouraged in the Bible, and a believer is called to be a generous giver. In a given situation, I may feel like giving $5.00 to a need, but the Holy Spirit says give $10.00. My giving is a righteous act, but my obedience has to be to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In faith, I need to do what the Lord asked me to do even though I may not have any lunch money left. I don’t need to know why the Lord was asking for $10.00 instead of $5.00. I just obey Him in love. However, if I end up giving $20.00 that may have been out of my own zeal or emotion. While the person may appreciate it very much, the Lord didn’t ask me to do it. That was my righteousness apart from the Lord’s leading.
There should be moments of time that we are desperately seeking the Lord for the right way of doing something. There are times that righteousness of faith stands for what is fair and just. There are other times, the Lord may ask us to let go of an injustice and offense and extend mercy.
Recently, I was challenged with a situation. I was trying to reconcile the following scripture, “love will cover a multitude of sins.” with being a watchman in the house. How do I navigate through a situation with love without compromising my role as a watchman? I had to put my own ideas of righteousness aside and look to the Lord for Him to define His righteousness in this situation. I prayed about it and sought Godly counsel. I still have to lean on Him as I walk it out and continue to seek Him going through the process.
I’m so thankful for the Word of God and for the Holy Spirit. Apart from the sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, I could use the scripture as a “to do list”, wield a sword to cut ears off, or sometimes excuse sin. However, when I am led by the Holy Spirit, He doesn’t allow me to stay in my own idea of righteousness, but he leads and guides me by faith in His righteousness. This demands of me to die to my own righteousness, so I can take on His!!
Lord we give you permission today to test our righteousness!