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Godliness
It is easy to believe we are godly when everything is calm and going our way. The real test comes when we are under pressure-when we encounter opposition or criticism; when there are too many demands on our time and we are tired or hungry; when people get in the way of our plans, hopes, or expectations-the driver who wants to poke along 5 miles under the speed limit; the counter person who just can't seem to get our order right; the person who's paying for groceries with nothing but change and takes forever to count it; the person who wants to do things differently than the way we are used to doing them or think they should be done ... It is then that our "godliness" loses some-if not all-of its shine.
We tend to equate being godly with being good, but they are not the same.
It is possible to be good on our own. Many unbelievers do it-philanthropists,
humanitarians. They spend their life doing good but don't know God and
have no place in their lives for Him. Godliness, on the other hand, is
totally foreign to human nature. It is God-likeness, and by its very nature
it cannot happen without God.
As long as we believe that we are good, we'll be self-satisfied; but we'll
never be godly. Because godliness requires need-a deep realization and
free admission of our desperate need of God's righteousness ... every
minute of the day.
We are not godly; not on our own. The good news is that God is, and He freely promises: "Ask and it will be given to you."
Godliness is the supernatural manifestation of God's life in us. How does it happen? It begins with our surrender-a day by day, moment by moment willingness to say, "Not my way, but Your way. Not my thoughts but Your thoughts. Not my will but Your wil1."
Ask and it will be given to you ... For everyone who asks receives.
-Maria Lund