Week 17: Becoming "God-Confident"

This week we finish the first third of 2011...and that means by the end of this week we will have read nearly a third the Bible.

This week's reading unfolds like this:

* 2 Corinthians 1-3
* Exodus 13-16
* 2 Samuel 1-4
* Psalms 48-50
* Job 33-34
* Jeremiah 22-26
* Mark 13-14

As we've come to expect, we cover a lot of diverse territory in our daily Scripture texts. But one overarching theme comes out again and again: namely, that we are to trust God in all our ways.

Scripture
"Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God" (2 Corinthians 3:4-5).

Observation
Paul learned through experience that the deliverances he experienced during his missionary journeys and the successes he realized were not of his own making. They were the result of God's work in his life.

Moses and Israel learned the same lesson when God parted the waters so they could pass through the Red Sea on dry ground.

David learned this when he waited on God to receive his kingdom rather than taking matters into his own hands after King Saul turned on him and drove him into the wilderness.

The Psalmist rightly declared:
"People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
"This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings" (Psalm 49:12-13).

Job lost everything and learned this through his sufferings.

The people in Jeremiah's day, who refused to learn this lesson, were told they would become exiles in a foreign land for 70 years.

And Jesus promised his disciples that they need not worry beforehand about what to say to their persecutors, "Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11).

Application
I admit that I am most overwhelmed by the stresses of life when I try to deal with them by myself. This past week I was in San Diego, tending to my parents' estate. As trustee, I've been shouldering the responsibility to make everything go as smoothly as possible. While I was there, I learned that the people buying my parents' home had an inspection done that revealed several major problems with the 43-year-old house, which made it uncertain whether they would continue with the escrow.

My brother-in-law, a faithful Christian man, said, "Just remember who's in charge." When he said that, the first thing I thought was, "Yes...I know who is in charge...I AM!" But then I realized he was assuring me that God was in control and I need not worry.

That brief exchange made me realize just how much of that burden I had taken on myself rather than prayerfully relinquishing it to the One who is sufficient for all things!

As I write this blog, it is still uncertain whether escrow will close. But God is in control. No matter the outcome, God will help everything work out the way HE wants it to work out. And that's what matters.

What burdens are you carrying? In what ways are you trusting in yourself instead of God?

This week's Scripture reading calls us back to one central imperative of the Christian life: we must trust God in all things...great and small!

Prayer
O Lord, help me be quicker to unload my burdens on you rather than trying to carry them myself. Forgive me for my lack of trust...and help me to trust you completely! In Jesus' name, amen.

Have a blessed week!

Faithfully,
Chuck