Do you think you can pass any test? Are you confident? Where does you confidence come from? David was confident that he could pass the test. He saw himself on solid ground. Psalm 26 captures David's confidence.
In Psalm 26:1, David asks for vindication. He wants the Lord to show others that he was right to trust in the Lord. David calls himself blameless. What does it mean to be blameless? David can't mean sinless, because only Jesus Christ was sinless. He must me mean something else. He clarifies his statement with the words, "I have trusted the Lord without wavering." David's righteousness rested in his faith in the Lord.
More amazing than David's claims is his request for God to test him. To paraphrase, he says check me from top to bottom. David is asking for a test. Most of us shy away from tests, but not David. He knew that his heart was prone to sinfulness, why ask God to search him. David wanted to where error was so that he could repent of it.
David was confident that he could stand up under God's scrutiny. But why? David's confidence wasn't in himself, but the Lord. As we read through Psalm 26:3-8, David tells us the reasons for his confidence. He kept the Lord's love before him. Whether David meant God's love was an ever-present reality in his life or that he continued to meditate on the reality of God's love for him, David was mindful of God's love. David walked in the Lord's truth. The truth here refers to God's Word. Walking in the Word, lead David to lead a holy life. David's life also centered on sincere worship of the Lord.
David's confidence was the work of the Lord in his life. He could see how God was working in him, and he knew God would continue. To that end, David asked God to keep him. Psalm 26:9-11 records David's prayer. In essence, he says, "Don't throw me away with the bad people."
David rested in the knowledge of God's faithfulness. He knew the Lord delights in showing mercy, so David trust in the Lord. That trust gave David the confidence to face any test? Are you trusting the Lord?
Showing posts with label Confidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Confidence. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Confidence at the Crossroads of Life
Do you ever have the feeling that you are at a crossroads in your life? It may be that the deep inside of you a tempest of doubt is raging. Maybe you feel drained of passion or hope. Maybe you feel that you have completely botched your life, and you want to consign the last several years of your life to a dustbin somewhere. Even if you can't identify the cause, you recognize the fact that you are facing a turning point.
At a fork in the road, where the destination of either path is unknown, it is often easy to allow fear to paralyze you. What if you make the wrong choice? What if the path your chose is too hard? What if? What if? What if? is always the refrain.
The message of the gospel strips fear of its power. Fear preys on your natural inclinations; it manipulates your inherent paranoia. Fear is a lie sculpted in barbwire. It snags you deep in the soul, and embeds itself deep. Fear manifests itself in various ways in different people. Most of us fear something, but the gospel uproots all lies.
This uprooting doesn't always happen overnight. As we grow and mature, the Spirit enables us to see more place we need to apply the gospel in our lives. He continually moves us to not only persevere in the faith, but to advance in it. As the Spirit brings about growth in us, he reveals to us areas that are still not under Christ's lordship.
When we find ourselves at a crossroads in our life, it is wise to ask if this is the Spirit's way of bringing us more fully under the lordship of Christ. The crossroads should be a place of intense prayer and contemplation, they should never be a place of fear.
The gospel teaches us that we are always accepted before God the Father, through Christ Jesus the Son, as demonstrated by the Spirit's presence in our life. God loves us: not for what we can do for him (he doesn't need anyone or anything), not because of what we do for him, but simply because that is who God is. If we take the wrong turn, whether in misguided faith or in disobedience, God will correct our path. We are his because he is pleased to delight in us. With this in mind, let us face the crossroads of our life with confidence in God's undeniable love and step out in faith.
At a fork in the road, where the destination of either path is unknown, it is often easy to allow fear to paralyze you. What if you make the wrong choice? What if the path your chose is too hard? What if? What if? What if? is always the refrain.
The message of the gospel strips fear of its power. Fear preys on your natural inclinations; it manipulates your inherent paranoia. Fear is a lie sculpted in barbwire. It snags you deep in the soul, and embeds itself deep. Fear manifests itself in various ways in different people. Most of us fear something, but the gospel uproots all lies.
This uprooting doesn't always happen overnight. As we grow and mature, the Spirit enables us to see more place we need to apply the gospel in our lives. He continually moves us to not only persevere in the faith, but to advance in it. As the Spirit brings about growth in us, he reveals to us areas that are still not under Christ's lordship.
When we find ourselves at a crossroads in our life, it is wise to ask if this is the Spirit's way of bringing us more fully under the lordship of Christ. The crossroads should be a place of intense prayer and contemplation, they should never be a place of fear.
The gospel teaches us that we are always accepted before God the Father, through Christ Jesus the Son, as demonstrated by the Spirit's presence in our life. God loves us: not for what we can do for him (he doesn't need anyone or anything), not because of what we do for him, but simply because that is who God is. If we take the wrong turn, whether in misguided faith or in disobedience, God will correct our path. We are his because he is pleased to delight in us. With this in mind, let us face the crossroads of our life with confidence in God's undeniable love and step out in faith.
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