Walk the Line

Hebrews 10:35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

So often as a "creative type" in the body of believers, I've had to be reigned back into humility. And rightly so, humility is a lesson that, for a dreamer, is a bit hard to keep in perspective while growing up. It was always easy, and almost natural, to assume that MY ideas were certainly the BEST ideas and I clearly saw outside the box better than almost anyone else. (Okay, it's true... There are days that I still lose to that lie.)

But I fear that the importance of developing a healthy balance of humility and confidence is something we forget to emphasize while discipling others or even while discipling ourselves. As I grew older and more sure of the life God was carving out for me, the strengths and gifts He'd birthed within me, and the perspective He was positioning me for, I still felt like embracing it confidently would be contrary to humility. Perhaps this is not something others struggle with, but as someone who's top spiritual gifts are most functional in very "seen" roles (worship & missions), I struggle to walk the line of humility and confidence. I want to, as Thoreau said, "Go confidently into the direction of [my] dreams." But I also want to be wide-open to whatever God has for me.

You know what I've decided after many long convos with Jesus about this?
He wants both. God is not honored in our confusion of humility into something of a passive believer. "Do whatever you want with my life, God. I have no thoughts or opinions and no plans to do anything but sit here until You say get up." No, God values the boldness of a believer who takes faith-filled-stumbles toward Him. The believer who says, "God, you've given me a vision- or at least a part of one. Now I'm going to form a plan and work the plan to do what You built me for." - THAT believer might actually make a difference in the Kingdom of Heaven!

To stay healthily balanced on this tight-rope, though, we must submit to leaders or friends who are close enough to remind us of the task and the grace that brought us there when we get off-track. We must stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit's corrections and redirections. We must stay teachable. We must stay flexible to the newness of life and with each season of possibility and obstacle that comes. I think of it now as this: It's the stumbles that keep us humble, but confidence keeps us moving forward. We need both. We won't succeed at His mission for our lives without both.

Goodness of Forgiveness

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Matthew 27:46 NIV

As Jesus took on the sins of the world, The Lord turned his face away not able to bear watching his only son in such agony. As we have been adopted into God's holy family, how many times have we cried out wondering why God has forsaken us? When all the while, we have taken on such sin that it pained our Father to see us in that kind of agony. We haven't been abandoned by The Lord, not ever. But we HAVE all walked through seasons where we put ourselves in such sin and shame without asking for Gods aid and forgiveness, that it feels like God has forsaken us. He must allow the consequences of our actions in order to fulfill the law... It doesn't mean he wants us to hurt. It doesn't mean his love is far from us.

Just as a parent watches a child stumble and make mistakes in order to learn how to be responsible and independent adult, so the Father watches us trip along in our lives in order to become fully-developed followers of Christ. He comes to our aide when we invite him, and lets us take on sin when we choose it.

Today is Good Friday. Lets try to remember the goodness of God's sacrifice and how he allowed his only son to die a brutal and gruesome death so that we might be free of the penalty of sin.

Thank you, Lord for loving me. Thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to the cross to take my place for all the sin I'd choose. You loved me when I didn't yet know you. Help me to stay grateful for the cross and for the life you make available to me.

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ." Ephesians 1:4-10 NIV