1 Corinthians 10:12-13 reads:
“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
Next, take a look at how The Message phrases it:
“Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.”
I simply love that! Cultivate God-confidence. Reading this reminded me of a ropes course I went through years ago as a youth worker. The pinnacle of the course was to climb to the top of a 50 ft. wooden pole and walk across a similar beam another 50 ft….with NO nets underneath. Now, there’s God-confidence and there’s obedience in life for all of us. Both were obvious to me in this course. My willingness to do the challenge was the obedience factor, and the body harness and repelling rope were my God-confidence. You see, I had confidence in the rope and the guide on the ground that had my well-being in their hands. But that confidence would have been completely useless had I not taken that first step of the climb.
This week, spend some time thinking about any obedience issues that you may have been struggling with between you and God. Then ask yourself this question:
“Am I unwilling to obey Him in this area of my life because I’m totally relying on my own self-confidence and not trusting Him wholeheartedly?” May you be bold enough to ask God this question, and honest enough to take action.
“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
Next, take a look at how The Message phrases it:
“Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.”
I simply love that! Cultivate God-confidence. Reading this reminded me of a ropes course I went through years ago as a youth worker. The pinnacle of the course was to climb to the top of a 50 ft. wooden pole and walk across a similar beam another 50 ft….with NO nets underneath. Now, there’s God-confidence and there’s obedience in life for all of us. Both were obvious to me in this course. My willingness to do the challenge was the obedience factor, and the body harness and repelling rope were my God-confidence. You see, I had confidence in the rope and the guide on the ground that had my well-being in their hands. But that confidence would have been completely useless had I not taken that first step of the climb.
This week, spend some time thinking about any obedience issues that you may have been struggling with between you and God. Then ask yourself this question:
“Am I unwilling to obey Him in this area of my life because I’m totally relying on my own self-confidence and not trusting Him wholeheartedly?” May you be bold enough to ask God this question, and honest enough to take action.
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