Cold Sweats, Prilosec, and Jesus...

I’ve been working on these decorations for our upcoming Women’s Conference…

 

There are things that I am able to do in ministry that come easy – they are things that I love to do because it’s part of my personality – I like to be creative, I like to make things look pretty, fix things up – those are all qualities that fit within the scope of my personality type.  It’s great to know your talents and use them for God but it’s even greater to be used of God beyond your own personality traits….

There are things that God has opened the door for me to do that I CANNOT DO.  They are things that are way beyond my comfort zone- things that reach beyond who I am as a person and the only way that I can do it is if He does it through me.  It’s a vulnerable place to be and one that I think the enemy keeps many Christians from entering because “That’s just not in my personality”.  

 The myth that God calls us to live within our own personality is just that –a myth, a lie from the enemy to keep us from understanding the full measure of what God can accomplish through us. 

When we became a Christian, we became a NEW person.

      "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a 

        new life has begun!" II Cor. 5:17

God called us to be LIKE JESUS.
      "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the    

       Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious 

       image." II Cor. 3:18

 He said we would do what HE did and more.  

       "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even  

        greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."  John 14:12

      

To live like Jesus requires us to step out beyond who we are or who we ever thought we could be and trust Him to use us to accomplish His great work.  It’s not comfortable, it’s sometimes scary, and it’s definitely humbling, but the truth is that I have never experienced as much joy doing the things that I can do compared to the joy that comes when I do the things I know that I cannot do.   

 This is one of them….

Next week at this time I will be doing something that I CANNOT do.  I am a quiet, shy, private person by nature, but next week I will be speaking in front of 350 + women  along with four other speakers who are way more talented than me. I can't tell you how many times I have walked by this flyer posted in our church lobby or seen it posted on FB and broken out in a cold sweat.

 The first time I ever really spoke was in a women’s Sunday school class with about 40 ladies.  I was scared silly, but it was an experience I will never forget because I recognized that the Holy Spirit took over and did what I couldn’t do.  Ladies were touched and lives were changed that day.  It really had nothing to do with me and everything to do with Him – and I know that for sure, because I would have NEVER done it if I was just operating in the scope of my own personality and comfort zone.  I have come to have a strange kind of love for speaking. It still scares me to death every,,, single... time, but there is something about going beyond who you are and being a vessel for Him that is so very exciting and rewarding. 

What if I had said no teaching that day because I wasn’t comfortable doing it?   

Hmm… I don’t think I would be the same person now.  

 I learned a huge lesson that day:  I never say no to an opportunity to do something for God simply because I’m not capable of doing it on my own. 

This doesn’t mean that I don’t get nervous or scared sometimes (because that’s being human) and sometimes I live on Prilosec, and I pray A LOT, but life is so much more rewarding when we learn to live in His strength and not our own. 

That being said, I humbly request your prayers this week…. 

   

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