Joshua must have started off his leadership as somewhat shy and nervous. If "be strong and courageous" was the prescription, then the problem must have been that he was lacking courage. That does not seem to be the description of Joshua in chapter ten. In fact he calls his leaders to put their feet on the necks of the kings they are about to kill and declares to them what God spoke to him in chapter one, i.e., "do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous." He not only believed and lived the message, he now passed it on to those around him. He overflowed with courage and strength.
Every now and then in life, a true "life-changing" decision must be made. For me, leaving my career to become a missionary, adopting Venezuelan twins and returning Sfrom the mission field were some of those gut-wrenching decisions. I now get to face a new one. Every time fear tries to take over the decision making process. All the questions of "what if" cloud the issue. Once a decision has been reached, however, I pray I move ahead with ruthless confidence like Joshua. He was totally sold out to the conquest of the land and called others to catch up. I pray that I will follow the same pattern.
I also have to ask myself why don't we walk with the same confidence and focus 24/7? Why do we let ourselves become so caught up in the trivialities of life that we fail to accomplish the greater good? Life with a clear purpose looks so different from life without purpose. If feels different. It has meaning and conviction. In the words of the Switchfoot, "We were meant to live for so much more. Have we lost ourselves?" So here is to hoping that we live not only with strength and confidence but with strength and confidence in our God-given purpose.
Showing posts with label confidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label confidence. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Romans 8:28-39; Perspective
This week I've talked to a student whose mother died of a stroke when he was in high school, another whose grandfather just died, another whose sister just finished drug rehab and a friend whose mother is in the hospital due to a stroke. So reading "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" just seems to sound odd today.
Then I keep reading and he compares us to Christ, an itinerant man of God who was abused and murdered, and he says we are like sheep to be slaughtered. Those are not very comforting but they are corrective to the misunderstanding that being a Christian makes everything end like a fairytale.
It seems that in the spiritual realm, it is impossible to be more secure in God's hands than we are at present. From his perspective, we are totally cared for. Yet from an physical view, it might still seem quite rough at times.
It is so hard to maintain God's point of view in a broken physical world. Death, sickness, injustice and frustrations scream at us. Yet in the long-term view, they are bumps in the road and not the end of the road. Even death is not the end of the road. For those called by God, he is the end of the road . . . and that confidence changes all perspective.
Then I keep reading and he compares us to Christ, an itinerant man of God who was abused and murdered, and he says we are like sheep to be slaughtered. Those are not very comforting but they are corrective to the misunderstanding that being a Christian makes everything end like a fairytale.
It seems that in the spiritual realm, it is impossible to be more secure in God's hands than we are at present. From his perspective, we are totally cared for. Yet from an physical view, it might still seem quite rough at times.
It is so hard to maintain God's point of view in a broken physical world. Death, sickness, injustice and frustrations scream at us. Yet in the long-term view, they are bumps in the road and not the end of the road. Even death is not the end of the road. For those called by God, he is the end of the road . . . and that confidence changes all perspective.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Luke 18:9-14; Own righteousness
Its parables like this one that just scare me. When did the Pharisee cross the line? Obviously the easy answer is "when he came to depend upon his own righteousness rather than God's". But the question next to my heart is what did it look like when he crossed that line?
He gave himself to preserving the blood-line of Christ, to maintaining Judaism in its purest form. He studied the scripture, he went to the right places, he fasted twice a week, he tithed and he avoided what society considered to be major sins. He had great intentions and, at least at the beginning we assume, he had a good heart. So what does it look like when acts of piety move from being acts to place me before God or shape my behavior to being more Godly to become acts that move me away from God because of my misplaced confidence in them?
It scares me to think that my heart could just as easily forget the real motivation behind changing my behavior and I could miss the heart of God while dedicating my life to seeking it.
He gave himself to preserving the blood-line of Christ, to maintaining Judaism in its purest form. He studied the scripture, he went to the right places, he fasted twice a week, he tithed and he avoided what society considered to be major sins. He had great intentions and, at least at the beginning we assume, he had a good heart. So what does it look like when acts of piety move from being acts to place me before God or shape my behavior to being more Godly to become acts that move me away from God because of my misplaced confidence in them?
It scares me to think that my heart could just as easily forget the real motivation behind changing my behavior and I could miss the heart of God while dedicating my life to seeking it.
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