Diving In...
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Romans 1:16-17
I saw it coming... and my heart beat a little faster. The conversation turned the right direction. This is it... here we go. I'm going to have a chance to share with this person. I'm gonna have a chance to offer them a glimpse of the ultimate solution to life's ultimate problem, sin. They finished talking... and my once coherant thoughts suddenly came to a screeching halt. I waited, but nothing came. I was just nodding and smiling, thinking, "What's going on here... I have no idea what to say!" Soon the conversation ended, but only formally. It continued in my head as I tried to think of what I should have said. Did I miss it? Was that my opportunity flying out the window? It bothered me the rest of the night. I tried to direct my thoughts out of the mud, "Alright God. I need your help here. I obviously can't do this on my own. Give me the words, give me the opportunity... help me say what you want me to say." The opportunity did come again... I could see it coming from around the corner this time. Speeding towards me like an angry mac truck, ready to eat me up. This time I managed to drop a few things in the conversation here and there, although I still felt completely inadequate in what I said. I so wished I was Martin Luther, Winston Churchill, my pastor, my dad... anybody else at that point so I could think of just the right question to ask them, and say just the right thing. But God didn't ask them to do it for me. He put me in that place at that time, and He wants me to step out in obedience to Him, no matter how unqualified I feel. Whenever opportunities like this come up, I'm reminded of a song by Stevin Curtis Chapman, "Diving In" Aha! You've caught me. I didn't make it up myself. :)
There's a part of the song that goes something like this, "But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God, until we let ourselves get swept away into this holy flood. So if you'll take my hand, we'll close our eyes and count to three... and take the leap of faith. Come on let's go! I'm diving in, I'm going deep... I wanna be caught in the rush, lost in the flow... the river's deep, the river's wide... so sink or swim I'm diving in!"
I often feel that just before I choose to tell somebody about what God has done in my life, or about His plan for making people right with Him. Sometimes I hold my breath and say, "Well God... here goes," and other times I cling to my floaties and sit on the dock, staring at the water unable to think of anything but how unpredictable those waves look. Sadly, I've found myself in the latter place much more often than the former. How many times have I regretted jumping in? None. How many times have I regretted not jumping in? More than I can count.
I learned a couple of things from this experience... which has been on my mind ever since it happened.
1. It all starts and ends with God. He's the reason I have something to share, and He's the One who can take His words and put them in the mouth of a foolish and weak person like me and use them to open the eyes of the people I care about. Ultimately, He's the One who must open their eyes... not me. He is able. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." This gives me great encouragement to dive in when the opportunity comes. He doesn't call me to be perfect... He calls me to be faithful... to take a step and share the best I can.
2. I have a responsibility as well. 2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." Honestly... I don't feel like a workman who need not be ashamed right now. I feel like I have been a slacker in this department... and I have a lot to learn. Frankly, the task seems rather daunting at the moment, and I'm not quite sure where to start. I love to sit down and read God's Word, but I get lazy about really diving in... about studying it sometimes. However... this is something that is worth my time, and now that God has brought it to my attention... it seems I have a choice. To dive, or not to dive? Will I ever regret it? Never. 2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Wow! That's amazing. Thoroughly equipped for every good work. That's what I want to be. Guess I better get my scuba gear. You gotta start somewhere...
Lord give me courage to dive into your word... and into people's lives. Give me strength to trust you, so that I can take that step off the dock and dive in. Show me how to study Your truth, how to become a workman who need not be ashamed. Make it my passion everyday to understand and be able to communicate this truth to people, as well as the story of what You have done and what You still do in my life. Lord this is not a one man show. I can't do this without You. You're like my oxygen tank underwater. I need you. Thank you that You are able to make me into the person You want me to be... no matter how far off track I might be. Help me cooperate with You in that process and take the necessary steps on my part... so that I can take advantage of every opportunity You provide.
And now a question for all of you relating to the verse at the top. The opposite of being ashamed is boldness. How do you think we can become more bold? (I say bold keeping in mind 1 Peter 3:15 which says we must share our hope with gentleness and reverence.) Paul prays for boldness in Ephesians and Colossians. (Other translations use the words clearly and fearlessly for boldly.) What do you think about this whole thing?
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Romans 1:16-17
I saw it coming... and my heart beat a little faster. The conversation turned the right direction. This is it... here we go. I'm going to have a chance to share with this person. I'm gonna have a chance to offer them a glimpse of the ultimate solution to life's ultimate problem, sin. They finished talking... and my once coherant thoughts suddenly came to a screeching halt. I waited, but nothing came. I was just nodding and smiling, thinking, "What's going on here... I have no idea what to say!" Soon the conversation ended, but only formally. It continued in my head as I tried to think of what I should have said. Did I miss it? Was that my opportunity flying out the window? It bothered me the rest of the night. I tried to direct my thoughts out of the mud, "Alright God. I need your help here. I obviously can't do this on my own. Give me the words, give me the opportunity... help me say what you want me to say." The opportunity did come again... I could see it coming from around the corner this time. Speeding towards me like an angry mac truck, ready to eat me up. This time I managed to drop a few things in the conversation here and there, although I still felt completely inadequate in what I said. I so wished I was Martin Luther, Winston Churchill, my pastor, my dad... anybody else at that point so I could think of just the right question to ask them, and say just the right thing. But God didn't ask them to do it for me. He put me in that place at that time, and He wants me to step out in obedience to Him, no matter how unqualified I feel. Whenever opportunities like this come up, I'm reminded of a song by Stevin Curtis Chapman, "Diving In" Aha! You've caught me. I didn't make it up myself. :)
There's a part of the song that goes something like this, "But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God, until we let ourselves get swept away into this holy flood. So if you'll take my hand, we'll close our eyes and count to three... and take the leap of faith. Come on let's go! I'm diving in, I'm going deep... I wanna be caught in the rush, lost in the flow... the river's deep, the river's wide... so sink or swim I'm diving in!"
I often feel that just before I choose to tell somebody about what God has done in my life, or about His plan for making people right with Him. Sometimes I hold my breath and say, "Well God... here goes," and other times I cling to my floaties and sit on the dock, staring at the water unable to think of anything but how unpredictable those waves look. Sadly, I've found myself in the latter place much more often than the former. How many times have I regretted jumping in? None. How many times have I regretted not jumping in? More than I can count.
I learned a couple of things from this experience... which has been on my mind ever since it happened.
1. It all starts and ends with God. He's the reason I have something to share, and He's the One who can take His words and put them in the mouth of a foolish and weak person like me and use them to open the eyes of the people I care about. Ultimately, He's the One who must open their eyes... not me. He is able. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." This gives me great encouragement to dive in when the opportunity comes. He doesn't call me to be perfect... He calls me to be faithful... to take a step and share the best I can.
2. I have a responsibility as well. 2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." Honestly... I don't feel like a workman who need not be ashamed right now. I feel like I have been a slacker in this department... and I have a lot to learn. Frankly, the task seems rather daunting at the moment, and I'm not quite sure where to start. I love to sit down and read God's Word, but I get lazy about really diving in... about studying it sometimes. However... this is something that is worth my time, and now that God has brought it to my attention... it seems I have a choice. To dive, or not to dive? Will I ever regret it? Never. 2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Wow! That's amazing. Thoroughly equipped for every good work. That's what I want to be. Guess I better get my scuba gear. You gotta start somewhere...
Lord give me courage to dive into your word... and into people's lives. Give me strength to trust you, so that I can take that step off the dock and dive in. Show me how to study Your truth, how to become a workman who need not be ashamed. Make it my passion everyday to understand and be able to communicate this truth to people, as well as the story of what You have done and what You still do in my life. Lord this is not a one man show. I can't do this without You. You're like my oxygen tank underwater. I need you. Thank you that You are able to make me into the person You want me to be... no matter how far off track I might be. Help me cooperate with You in that process and take the necessary steps on my part... so that I can take advantage of every opportunity You provide.
And now a question for all of you relating to the verse at the top. The opposite of being ashamed is boldness. How do you think we can become more bold? (I say bold keeping in mind 1 Peter 3:15 which says we must share our hope with gentleness and reverence.) Paul prays for boldness in Ephesians and Colossians. (Other translations use the words clearly and fearlessly for boldly.) What do you think about this whole thing?
posted by Kara Bird | 6:02 PM
2 Comments:
LOVED the paragraph about the floaties and unpredictable waves. You are so right about regrets.
As far as being bold, I think it starts with faithfulness. Does consistency make us bold? I wonder if we can compare it to courage. Some movie I watched recently said something about how courage is not the absence of fear (now I remember, Princess Diaries), it is doing what is right for others despite our fear. Sounds like a good definition of boldness too.
You and Tami have got me thinking again! I think that some people relate bold to personality traits like loud, outgoing, that kind of thing. Perhaps being bold is drawing on God's strength. Using his strength to share about Him, not being timid when it comes to talking about or acting on your faith. That fear may be in our minds (Satan hates when people talk fondly of God) but we push past that using God's strength. Of course I think Tami came up with great thoughts, so refer to the above! Love you.
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