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2 Cor 1:8-10 is very encouraging to me right now:
I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us.
I find this encouraging because I have felt crushed and COMPLETELY overwhelmed lately. I’ve wanted to give up on this blog and my walk with God. It’s good to know that God is teaching me. I’m excited to be able to one day realize that I am completely reliant on God rather than myself. I think the fact that I’m still relying on myself might be the main source of all my frustration lately.
The trick is trying to figure out how to rely on God. I’m clueless. Pray, read the bible, sure, easy enough. It’s gotta be me that eventually makes the move, though. So, no matter how much I pray and prepare, unless God himself does the work for me, it’s gonna have to be me that takes the first step, right? How do you do this and still rely on God? Or does “rely on God” mean to go for it and just trust that he’s gonna provide? I’ve never understood this.
One book (and many bible verses) will tell me to wait on God, be patient, never settle for less than God’s best, etc. The next will tell me to GO FOR IT! Dream Big! Don’t be that person that stops when the going gets tough. Pray, ask God for guidance, and fight your way to the finish! GO GOD! Oh, but rely on God too.
Uhhhh…???
This is one hefty lesson for me, lemme be the first to tell ya!
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Bill, I hope it’s ok to be rather direct and say - didn’t Jesus die on the cross so you could relax and not worry about all this stuff?
Why are you so worried about getting it right?
What do you think God is going to do if you make a mistake - smite you?
Hello Bill,
I think that quote from II Corinthians says a lot about the cathartic nature of fear… As men, we are told from a very young age not to be afraid and not to show fear. I feel that is a big mistake - fear is healthy.
“Relying on God,” to me, doesn’t mean that there is a cosmic safety net under us to catch us if we fall. Instead I like to think of God as speaking through the experience. I’m relying on the experience to show me what I need to understand. At least, that is how I see it.
Regardless, I hope you feel better.
Namaste.
I don’t think fear is ‘healthy’ per se, although it certainly is ‘normal’. When our fears amount to ‘worry’ I think facing our fears by persevering even though we’re afraid is healthy. The best way to get less afraid is to keep going anyway. The best way to get more afraid is to let our fears dictate how we live our lives.
That’s my experience, anyway.
…ok, fear of lions is healthy. I meant fear other than that caused by immediate danger to our physical being.
@Helen…
Yeah, that’s the rumor (Jesus dying for me), but I can’t seem to wrap my brain around that whole grace concept.
@John…
I like your “speaking through experience” view. I like it a lot actually. How does that work for you?
Bill, you’re right - grace is the key.
I think, as with all things in life, you can only ever do your best. Let someone else worry about the rest.
Hello Bill,
Pretty well, actually. You start to pay more attention to your life and the aspects of your life which you do have control over, rather then worry about the things you have no control over and going around in a perpetual haze.
I think the important thing is not to confuse the events in my life with the lessons the Divine offers. Faulting God for my problems could become a convenient excuse not to pay attention to the lessons I should be learning from those issues. In other words, I can’t claim God blew my house down just because God is willing to teach me how to rebuild it.
Make sense?
Namaste.