God-confidence

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 (6:50 a.m.)

Most amazing and awesome God,

Thank You that this morning I couldn’t wait to come out here with You. Thank You that again today I feel especially “AGOG With God”. Oh yea! And thank You!

Blessed God, thank You that yesterday I once again realized the degree to which I have been fueling myself with fear. Thank You Lord that I don’t have to live a moment being afraid of making mistakes. And yes. I know that just because I don’t have to, doesn’t mean that I won’t.

Awesome God, how I LOVE reading Your Word and getting so excited when I recognize myself in it! It’s like when Pastor Ed described how most people look for themselves in a photograph. Usually to see how they came out in it. Thank You Lord, that so very often I read Your Word to see how I am developing and to remind myself what good company I am in.

I sit here reading The Message and I grin as I take in the way Eugene Peterson has presented Paul’s words to the Corinthians. Chapter nine ends as he tells of the crown of laurels that was to be won at the end of a race back then. That kind of crown didn’t last forever and Paul said that he never ran without a goal. He didn’t box by beating his fists in the air. He wanted his readers to understand that the need to train and the desire to win applies to our spiritual lives as much as it does to athletic competitions.

Lord God, thank You for continually reminding me that all my hope and faith and trust HAS to be in You! Every single bit of strength I have ultimately comes from You. With that being the case, why would I want to waste a single ounce of it from being afraid of making a mistake?

Lord, how I ask You to keep me hoping, trusting, believing in You. You are so good. It’s only in and through You that I would ever read these next words that the apostle wrote to those Corinthians he referred to as friends. In what has now become chapter ten, he encouraged them to remember their history. He reminded them of the miracles their ancestors had witnessed when they “walked under the cloud and went through the sea” (v. 1) as they followed Moses “from enslaving death to salvation life” (v. 2).

Paul reminded and warned his dear friends that their predecessors had their “meals provided daily by God”. They all were able to eat and drink because of the spiritual food and drink You gave to them. The drink was from the Rock. And the Rock was Christ (3-4).

And this is where my resemblance comes in. Verse 5, “But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much – most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.” Too often I give into temptation Lord. I never trained as an athlete. I am prone to giving up easily. Running to win is a foreign concept to me. Quitting is what I have been good at through the years.

You are changing that quality in me. Thank You Lord. You are not going to leave me alone in the fear of my own making. I sit here reading Paul’s message, seeing myself. "We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving Him; they (the people who did shameful things) tried it and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them"(9-10).

And here comes what got me to this book in the first place this morning. Verses 11 and 12, “These are all warning markers – danger! – in our history book, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel – they at the beginning, we at the end – and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be naïve and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face [And I have! J] as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.”

Mm, yes Lord! God-confidence. As I am once again reminded of just how very small I am, thank You for the awesome comparison of just how very great You are. Thank You Lord. Thank You for bringing me here. Thank You for teaching me and guiding me. How I ask You to be with us this day as I prepare to possibly make mistakes if they need to be made. Transform me from this prison of fear and emotional paralysis into a person of action in and through You.

Any confidence I have HAS to come from You! Thank You so much dearest Lord for taking time with me this morning. I love You so very much. Thank You. Amen.

(840 words ~ 8:29 a.m.)