Self-confidence or God-confidence

There is nothing on this earth that I want more than to be filled through all of my being with all of the fullness of God, and to have the richest measure of His presence until I completely overflow with God Himself (Ephesians 3:19). This starts at Salvation when we receive all of God's fullness. He moves in by His Spirit with all of His glory and power.

I know that there is no way to contain more of God, because His fullness already abides in Believers; but I do want to experience a fuller awareness of His presence and leading. Too often, we are so full of our self, that we miss out on the fullness of God within us. The more we allow our flesh and self-confidence to dictate our life, the less we walk in the Spirit.

We need to surrender to God the self-assured part of our identity in order to trust Him. People with a high opinion of their assets have so much to overcome, but those who suffer with self-doubt and who lack self-esteem are closer to walking in the Spirit. The uncertain, timid person is already light years ahead of most people. Insecure people trust God more than those who are secure in their self.

What we need more than self-confidence in our human attributes is our confidence and identity in God. John advised us to decrease, so that Christ in us may increase (John 3:30). We gain our identity in who we are in Christ, not in who we are as a person. There is nothing, which God calls us to do, that we cannot accomplish, once we realize the extent of His power within us (Philippians 4:13).

If we list our human assets and talents, we discover the gifts God gave us. For instance, what are we good at? What positive character traits do we already have? These are the areas where God is already shining through us. We are His light in the world (Matthew 5:16). God lives in us, and we have all the power of the godhead working through us. Now, that fact will improve any self-image!

Prayer:

Father God, when we face challenges in life, which overwhelm our faith, we are tempted to roll up our sleeves and apply some human effort to the problem. We fail to realize our limited human resources. Remind us that the nation of Israel faced such an issue at the outskirts of Canaan, and felt like grasshoppers. They wandered in the wilderness, because they thought they had to rely on their human effort rather than on Yours. Give us the faith to follow the leading of Your Holy Spirit each moment of every day. 

Thought for the Day:

When we gain our identity from Christ in us, rather than from our human capabilities or insufficiencies, we accomplish everything, which God calls us to do.

Never Underestimate the Power of Obedience

The book of Ruth tells us the story of two widows who are willing to live in poverty to do the will of God for their life. They moved from Moab to Canaan with no means of support and no prospects. Thankfully, Jewish law stated that the poor could glean the leftover grain from the fields in order to have enough to eat. Due to Ruth’s submission to her mother-in-law, she met and married the owner of the field, one of Naomi’s distant relatives named Boaz. God blessed the women through two years of gleaning and now even more through this marriage to Boaz.

Due to their obedience, God gave Ruth and Boaz a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse, who was the father of King David (Ruth 4:17). Mary came from this family lineage and she gave birth to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. God has a master plan for each and every life, which He designed before we were even conceived in our mothers’ womb (Jeremiah 1:5). Once we surrender our life to God, He uses us to do miraculous deeds for His Kingdom.

The instant we ask Jesus Christ to save us, He showers us with His forgiveness and places His hope, peace and joy in our lives. Our spirit, which was formerly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1), is Born Again and shall never die (1 Peter 1:23). We are a new creation spiritually. Then, He changes us from within as we walk through His sanctification process.

We are now dead to the power of sin and alive to the things of God through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:11). Our former way of life is ended. We crucify our old sinful self, which was corrupted by its deceitful desires. Now we are made new in the attitude of our mind and created to be like Jesus in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). Never underestimate the power of your obedience to God’s call on your life.

We may work in the church nursery, usher, attend the parking lot, greet people, teach a class, sing in the choir, count the offering, serve on a committee, direct a ministry, help in the children’s ministry, run the lights and sound during the service or volunteer in the church office. Each position in the church is vital and depends upon every other position. Did you realize that the Pastor could not preach if competent people who love the Lord did not fill these other ministries?

In the same way, the human body could not function without the innermost parts that we rarely give any attention to. In fact, think about our big toe. It stabilizes the entire body. Without this tiny part on our body, we would have trouble walking, standing and keeping our balance. In the Body of Christ every part is equally necessary to the balanced ministry and function of the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-16, 24-25; Ephesians 4:16).

We may not recognize during our lifetime the immense contribution our service made to the Body of Christ, but in eternity we will be surprised at all the lives we touched by our faithfulness. Consider this scenario: If you smile at one person as they enter the church sanctuary, and that person feels so comfortable during the service because of your smile, that he/she accepts God’s gift of salvation.

Then that same person goes out and leads hundreds of others to serve the Master. You had a direct influence on all of those lives believing in Jesus for Salvation. Never underestimate the multitude of ways that God can use you to advance His Kingdom on the earth. Freely you have received, so freely give in obedience to the leading of His Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day (Matthew 10:8; Galatians 5:16-25).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Your blessings for us on earth now far outweigh any tribulation life may send our way. You sustain us and keep us as Your own through every trial and temptation. You work everything, even the negative things out for our good (Romans 8:28). We look forward to living with You for eternity as well, and to sharing with You an inheritance of all that God had for mankind from the beginning. Satan stole Paradise from us, but he will be defeated in the end by Your glorious triumph over him. Help us to live in faithful obedience to Your call on our life.

Thought for the Day:

It is only when each part of Christ’s Body functions in obedience to His will that we can enjoy harmony and accomplish the work of the Lord.