Confidence in God
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjbl4gkJSVI - Who Am I - Casting Crowns
Probably, at one time or another, most of us have had a confidence problem. During those
times, we feel worthless, unloved, forgotten. That's our perception, of course, and not reality.
It can happen to anyone of us at anytime - anytime when we listen the lies of the Enemy instead of the Voice of God, our Creator and Father.
Many people consider Elijah the greatest prophet that every lived. He was a prophet during the reign
of King Ahab who was possibly the most wicked king of all times. Elijah walked with God. He performed amazing miracles, even bringing a young boy back to life. If anyone should have had confidence in himself and in the power and might of God, it was Elijah. But Elijah was not unlike me. He had moments when he was afraid, when he forgot that God would never leave nor forsake him.
This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Once again, the people have turned from Jehovah God
and instead, worshipped Baal.There's been a drought in the land which is interesting considering that
Baal is supposed to be the god over storms and nature. Hmmmm... One would think "rain" might fall
under his power. But Baal had not provided rain for a long time (or ever!). Our mighty God has a way of getting our attention when we take our eyes off Him. Of course, it was Jehovah God, the only true God, who controlled nature and determined whether to send rain or not. And HE had withheld rain for a long time.
Finally, at just the right time, the LORD sent Elijah to King Ahab with a challenge.
1 Kings 18 -
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
“You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 19 Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.”
20 So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. 24 Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed.
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.”
26 So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.
27 About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
28 So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29 They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.
30 Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 31 He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, 32 and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. 33 He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.
Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.”
34 After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, 35 and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
Don't you just want to stand up and cheer! Or maybe, like the Israelites, we should fall to our knees, with face to the ground and worship Almighty God. This was a powerful demonstration of God's power. It should have settled the question once and for all for King Ahab and the people - "The LORD - He is God! Yes, the LORD is God!"
1 Corinthians 10:12 -
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Just a few short verses later, we see Elijah, who has just witnessed the power of Almighty God over the Enemy, hiding, afraid of a woman - wanting to die rather than face another day. Where is that powerful Prophet who called down fire from Heaven?
1 Kings 19:1-4
When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
When I read this passage, I think, good grief, Elijah! What are you thinking? If God is on your side, how in the world can you be afraid of Jezebel? God has just shown you His power and might, and you're afraid of a woman?
But don't we do the same thing? Have you ever noticed that we are most susceptible to discouragement when we're coming off a great victory? When a person accepts Jesus, our single greatest moment, it is often followed by an attack by the Enemy. He can't stand for us to praise God, to lift up His Name, to accept His Son as our Savior! So he tries all kinds of tricks and schemes to defeat us and render us ineffective for the Kingdom.
Right after Jesus was baptized, what happened? He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days and nights. Jesus had just announced to the world that His ministry was beginning, and the first thing that happens is "temptation".
Jesus overcame that time in the wilderness by keeping His eyes on His Father. He didn't answer the enemy with His earthly wisdom and strength - at that time, His strength was probably failing; he had fasted for 40 days. No Jesus trusted His Father's Words and His Father's strength. He didn't rely on His own abilities. There's a powerful lesson there for us.
When I feel powerless and ineffective, I have two choices. I can wallow in my defeat and discouragement, like Elijah, or I can look to God and give Him my worries and concerns. I can imitate Jesus.
Instead of listening to the lies that the Enemy whispers in my ear:
"You are such a loser!" "You are worthless." "Once again, you've managed to mess everything up!" "You're never going to get out of this mess." "Why should God bother with you? You're nothing. He's got much more important things to take care of."
I can listen to my Father. He tells me a completely different story.
Psalm 139
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life
I am a much loved child of God. I matter to my Father. He has a plan for me, just for me. And He has watched every moment of my life, sometimes allowing difficult circumstances because He could use them to help draw me closer to Him. He's shown Himself so powerfully in my life, so many times. I choose to trust Him, not just in those powerful moments when I feel His presence, but also in those times when I feel so discouraged and forgotten. That's what faith is, believing when you cannot see.
Jesus showed us how to face the temptations. He turned to God's Word.
Luke 4
The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
This morning, I was feeling discouraged. I had a tough day yesterday, my underwriter would not call me or email me back, and I tried several times to get a response on a loan I'm trying to close. The loan in question is for my new boss, and I definitely don't want to drop the ball on this loan. I have to get an answer from the underwriter to get the loan closed. My boss is upset because the underwriter isn't calling me back. Me, too. But all the way home last night, all I could think about was this: What if I have failed to do what I was supposed to do and it's my fault the underwriter isn't calling me back? I hate to admit it but I have been worrying over this situation. I know I'm not supposed to worry, but I don't want to fail. I don't want to be the one who "messed up". How am I going to respond today if I didn't do what I was supposed to do?
Defeat and fear can be overwhelming when we let ourselves dwell on things that we should have done differently. Just last week I was feeling so strong and confident about my new job. Now... I'm afraid I missed something that has caused a loan not to close when it should have. I feel like Elijah, defeated and afraid of the future. But when I took time to be in God's presence, He reminded me of all the times He's provided when I thought there was no way I would survive. He reminded me of my friends, Oscar and Emma, and how they trust in Him because He has always been faithful. He reminded me that I have no one to fear when He is with me and HE is always with me.
God put Psalm 139 in front of me. As I read it, once again, I knew HE was telling me: "I know,Carol. I know exactly what's happening. I've seen everything, and I have already made a way for you. I will not leave you to face this alone. I am with you always - from the time you were conceived even until now. Trust Me. I have a plan for you, and it's greater than You can imagine. Keep your eyes on Me, precious daughter. I'm right here."
I feel better now, because I've stopped listening to the lies. Instead, I'm listening to my Father who loves me and will get me through whatever may come. And these tough moments are in my life to remind me that I am not in control. I can't do this life without Him. The moment I think I've got it all figured out, that's when He gives me a little nudge and says "Trust Me, not yourself, Carol. I won't ever let you down."
Father GOD, Your Word says that You will never leave me, but right now I feel so alone. I'm afraid of what lies before me. Help me to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that You are with me. You are my Provider and my Protector, my Good Shepherd. The storms and the trials of this life feel as if they are going to overcome me, but You have overcome the world and will not let me be defeated. You are by my side, I need not fear. You are for me, what can man do against me? You have given me the spirit of power, love and self-discipline, and I revel in this knowledge. Your Spirit who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. I will not fear, for You, O God, are with me. My confidence is in You and You alone. Fill me with Your presence and give me courage as I greet this day. Forgive me when I fail to trust You for everything. I pray all these things in Jesus' Name. Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1jRcpFEIzs - He Knows My Name - McRaes
It's not about me.
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