Fear of Failure

"A humble man is not afraid of failure.  In fact, he is not afraid of anything, even of himself, since perfect humility implies pefect confidence in the power of God before Whom no other power has any meaning and for Whom there is no such thing as an obstacle". - Thomas Merton

I like this quote a lot, for fear of failure is something that I have always struggled with.  If I truly believe that God is in complete control of my life then I should never fear failure for I know that God calls me to do my best for Him in all things as an act of worship to Him (Colossians 3:23) and then to trust Him for the results (Philippians 2:13, Romans 8:28). 

There will be things that God calls me to do, and those things He will always give me the strength, ability, means, etc. to accomplish those tasks successfully.  He calls me to do my part and do my best, trusting in Him for the results.  Anytime God calls me to do something I can know for certain that as long as I do my part, that the task will be successful.  This is further proof of the peace that comes from Christ ruling in your life.

But what about those times where I pursue something where I am not convinced that God is absolutely calling me to do it?  Is it wrong for me to pursue it?  Am I sinning simply by desiring to do something that I have not felt God calling me to do?  These questions are ones which I have struggled with in the past, and the following is what I feel God has been teaching me regarding them.

First off, I do not need to be called by God in order to do something.  If that was the case I would be sitting around most of my life waiting for God to tell me exactly which action He wants me to take next.  The truth is, He has already told me all that He wants me to do.  He wants me to follow the instructions that He has laid out for me in the Bible.  Therefore, as long as I am obeying His Word, then I am within His will.  That means that I will have times in my life where there will be different options for me, all of which are equally righteous, and in those situations I believe that it is fine to choose the path that you would like.  Notice however that I said situations which are equally righteous.  There will be times where we have options which all seem "okay"; however, we need to make sure that we seek God's wisdom for which choice is the wisest choice.

With this said, just because I said we do not need to be called by God, that does not mean we should not be listening for His call.  If He calls us to do something, we need to do it, and immediately, knowing that He is with us and that He will provide us the strength and means to be successful.

Turning Weaknesses into Strengths

Colossians 3:8-10

I must strive to at all times identify the weaknesses in my life and turn them into strengths.  I need to continually identify the struggles and sins that are prevalent in my life and then rely on God and His strength to change those areas in my life to that which is righteous and pure.  In other words, I must at all times be relying on God and His strength to take my weaknesses and turn them into strengths so that I may better glorify God, and enjoy a more fulfilling life here on earth.

Never Worry

It is amazing to know that I never need to worry about anything.  I can, and must, live this life free of fear and worry.  I can do this because of Philippians 4 :6,7.  God is in complete control of everything to do with my life, and He leads and guides me.  As well, my eternal destiny is set.  I’m going to Heaven when I leave this earth, so no matter what happens in my life here on earth, I have eternity in Heaven to look forward to.  Therefore, why would I ever worry about anything?

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

I find it interesting that people often bring this topic up when arguing that there is no God.  Although it is a very valid question, people do not take the time to really think about the answer.  The simple answer is that God did not want it to be this way.  He wanted us to be in constant communion with Him and to be able to experience the world in the perfect way that He made it.  Along with this, because He loves us so much, he allowed us to have free will/choice.  Adam and Eve abused this, and sinned, and thus sin came into the world.  As sin came into the world, so did all the negative consequences that came with it.  God never wanted to allow bad things to happen, but because we abused the gift of our free will/choice, we brought sin into the world and thus all the bad things that come with it.  It is not God's fault that bad things happen, it is ours. 

This helps me put into perspective why God allows bad things to happen.  It is because He loves us enough to give us free choice.  He could have created this world and made us all believe in Him and serve Him like robots, but that would not be love.  Just like it would not be love if I robotically loved my wife out of obligation, or being forced to do so.  God wants to have a relationship with us that is real and meaningful.  So when we ask ourselves, "why did God allow that little girl to be molested", it is for the same reason that He allowed us to curse out the "jerk" who cut us off on the way to work this morning.  And it is also for the same reason that He allowed us to help the needy and sick around us, and to return the evil around us with good.  He loves us enough to give each human being the choice of how they are going ot act in each situation and how they are going to live their lives.  Unfortunately many people are going to choose to do evil, and because of that many terrible things are going to happen in this world, and therefore bad things are going to happen, and they are even going to happen to good people.  Is this fair, not at all, but they are the consequences of our sins.  God loves us enough to give us free choice, so it's not His fault that bad things happen, it has always been our own.

Proof of GOD in My Life

I have often had discussions with friends about how God is real in my life and I have so many ways where it is the case; however, after our discussions all these things that I could have said suddenly come to mind.  So I wanted to write them down, and continually add to them over time because God is more real in my life than anything, and he proves it to me more and more every day.

I am always asking God to make me more like Him and show me the areas of my life that need improving and changing..and He shows me what those things are....in ways I least expect it....He may bring it to my mind or He may show me in  His Word...a lot of times I will be reading His Word and he keeps bringing me to teaching on the things I need work on and he combines that with bringing those things up in my every day life....this is not by chance...and also I can feel His presence in doing this.  I have an awareness of the fact that these occurrences are not by chance, but rather God directing each step.

I cannot deny the fact that as I read His Word I become more like Him...He is changing me...also He speaks to me and the things He speaks to me turn out to be true and real and  best for me....for instance sometimes I feel like I shouldn't say or or do something and as I wait and I later find out that that was the wise choice maybe I would have offended or hurt someone or maybe I would have missed out on a blessing....another example is how He led Brie and I to get married....financially it didn't seem to make sense but as we prayed and read the Bible and talked to others it semed like he was leading us to do it and it really worked out in all ways....we were even able to pay off student loans quite quickly.....I cannot deny all the ways that God has proven Himself real in  my life....and therefore my faith in Him is not blind faith and that is some of the best proof and explanation for God's existence that I can give.

Many people don't believe in God becuase they are making judgements based off of their own understanding....God is so much more deep and complex than that....yes if we look at things from a worldly perspective than we will have a hard time believing.  For example, why does God allow bad things to happen....but when we view them from God's perspective as outlined in the Bible then things make more sense...it is also important though to realize that not everything will make sense to us becuase we are called to have faith in some areas, but becuase God has proven Himself to be real in other areas of life then it should not be as difficult to have that faith...but again, if you are going simply off of your own understanding, going off of the views of this sinful world, rather than giving the One who made you and this world a chance then you don't stand a chance to come and understand the real truth.

As well in everything else in life when we try and change we work and work and repeat until it becomes reality, but that is not the case with God...with God you have to do your part to work hard at obeying Him but in the end unless He is living inside you by His Holy Spirit then you will  not be able to change...only He can change you.  When you seek to become more like Christ, it is a very cool experience to watch yourself change, but even cooler is to realize that it is not you responsible for that change.

The church is becoming more wishy washy and world fiendly in the way that it preaches the truth....I must never allow myself to be this way...I must speak what the Bible says as the Bible says it....this is also further proof that  Bible is the inspired Word of God becuase it speaks the truth that is not necessarily always easy for humans to hear and accept...if it was and the Bible was written by people who were simply conspiring to make something up that was not true but that they wanted people to believe in; well then it would be written in  a more world friendly way just like many churches are starting to preach now a days.