today in church marshall spoke on daniel 3...he talked about shadrach, meshach and abednego...i had a part in the chapter underlined and it got me thinking...the part i had underlined was in verse 18, "but even if he does not." they were telling nebuchadnezzar that if he threw them in the fire that God would help them and even if God didn't help them they would still not bow and worship other gods or the image of nebuchadnzzar...they had no fear...they would go "even if he does not" help them through this trial...
it reminded me of jonathan in 1 samuael 14...when jonathan says, "perhap the Lord will act on our behalf." (vs 6c)...jonathan was going out to face the philistines with his armorbearer and one sword...they had no fear to go out into battle with only one sword...in their first attack they killed about 20 men...
in both of these stories these men had such courage...they knew what they needed to do and they did it...even if God wasn't going to help them...they knew that if it was in His will that they would be ok...they would get through their obsticle...
this got me to thinking...what am i afraid of??? i'm always so scared to get out of y comfort zone...there are so many things i could be doing with my free time to further the kingdom of God and just help people around me...but do i take the opportunitis to do these things? not usually...i'm so comfortable in my life that i don't like to do things that are outside of it...i'm scared...but if God's on my side what is there that i should be afraid of? nothing...He's there to hold my hand...He can take my fears away...
"for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." -2 timothy 1:7
"the Lord is wih me; i will not be afraid. what can man do to me?" -psalm 118:6
Great stuff Abby. So many people fail to really live because they just can't get a handle on what you just said. One of the ideas that really hit me during Catalyst was that grace is not just for salvation, but for living.
ReplyDeleteWe do not have the power to do what he calls us to do. But the Spirit He gives us does - and His grace is the fuel of the everyday.
I enjoyed your blog! I think when you let go of your fears and let yourself LIVE that unexpected life, then God ultimately makes you more fearless. You also experience life to the fullest that God has in store for you, and you have fewer regrets when it is your time to depart; you are more willing to lay it all down when the challenge arises.
ReplyDelete