For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust…II Peter 1:4.
Does partaking of His divine nature ever mess with your thought processes? I mean we are each spiritual Gideons doing more than we can imagine (Eph. 3:20) while being reduced to complete nobodies (II Cor. 12:11). How can such nothingness like us participate with the Complete One in His true and glorious work and stay sane?
He called the foolish, the weak, the base, and the “are not” (I Cor. 1:26-28) to complete His work. So how do you feel participating? I feel foolish, weak, base, and not fit. It bugs me. It increasingly weighs on me. Yet that’s how God used Gideon. God reduced Gideon’s armies that the glory would be of the Divine. I feel so strange being visible in the church. I love the work, adore the people, and move with contagion for His theme. Yet, I feel so terribly and visibly inadequate.
For me, it’s embarrassing to step up in front of workshop crowds being so weak and foolish. I am a saved, gifted, blessed goof-ball. I am shallow, vain, and so far behind the church learning curve. I often wonder if my Memorial friends wince at such silliness which comes from me. I’m guessing they do and love me anyway. Yet, the Word says I partake in the divine nature. How can that be? I have a harder time making introductions and announcements than preaching.
It can only be possible as our confidence is in His Spirit and not in ourselves (II Cor. 3:4-5). It must be true. My role is to believe it. If you struggle with being you…and I’m assuming some are just like me…continue to serve. He is the goal. He is the glory. He is the life. He invited the weak and the base to partake. So? We do…gladly!
2 comments:
It's because you are a divine goofball that everyone loves you! Who could not love that?
I think in some way there are gifts that we have, and gifts that we WISH we had. I wish I was a better singer. I get extremely nervous to sing in front of people and often wonder if they wince at my8 ability to try. One of our members came up to me last week and and said "Don't ever worry about it, this is family, it's just us...so relax"
I think God gifted you with the ability to do what you do...and do it well. I love the seriousness in you...and I love it when you are a total goofball. You know how to turn it off and on at the right times.
When we think we are inadequate, it takes away our ability to be effective. God doesn't equip us with such thoughts, we create them ourselves. He believs in us and therefore wants us to believe in ourselves.
Using our gifts is what he designed us to do. Yours is communicating His word. PERIOD! You do it so well and the lives you have touched have proven so.
I don't think we should ever give up on wishing for more. However, I think that when we find our strength that He has blessed us with, we should run with it.
Love you! And Happy New Year!
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