But God...

I was reading this morning about how it really is all about God and not about us or what we do. Not a new concept to grasp, I know. But to me, I guess you could say that it finally sunk into my heart from my head and I had an, "Aha" moment. You know, we learned about it in english back in the day. :) Anyways, one of my biggest struggles is feeling like I have to "be good," which can clearly dismiss one to feel grateful for what God already did for you and who He is and instead just focus you on your own accomplishments...or in my case, my own failures. I, just like the Israelites, can not be good apart from God. So I will continually find myself on their repetitive cycle of sin, punishment, confess, brokenness, misery, picking myself back up, sinning again, etc. I guess the more mature I have become in God, the less "huge sins" I find myself confessing of. I mean, I still sin everyday, but I'm no longer in a cycle of defeat...Praise His name! However, I constantly live in a perpetual state of what I need to be doing better, and what a failure I am for not doing it right. BUT TODAY...My eyes were opened a fresh to what God has been saying to me. It turned from a whisper to a shout. IT'S NOT ABOUT ME! IT'S ALL ABOUT GOD! Big news flash for yall, I know. But it was for me. If I just have faith...then (as my sweet Beth Moore says in one of her devo's, straight from scripture) it closes the gap between our theology and our reality. It doesn't so much make us what we are, but who we are. Obtain the praise you need from God, not yourself or anybody else, as John 5:44 so eloquently puts it. And if you just have faith (in God, not yourself)...we are called to the obedience that comes from faith (Romans 1:5.) And He works mightily among us only b/c of our faith, which leads to obedience (Galatians 3:5.) We have to live and speak God's word in faith to walk obediently, victoriously, etc.! Faith answers prayers, as stated in Matthew 7! It changes things! One of my former fellow Young LIfe leaders wrote a devotional on the book of Psalms and it also fit right into what God was teaching me this morning (total God thing of course!) He used the illustration of an old Denis the Menace cartoon which went as such...Dennis and his friend, Joey, were leaving Mrs. Wilson's house with a cookie in hand. The caption read, "Dennis, Mrs. Wilson did not give us a cookie because we are good. She gave us a cookie because SHE is good." God's goodness, not ours, is what compels Him to step into our lives that are trapped in the tragic cycle of sin and brokenness. Just as He did for the Israelites (Psalm 78 & 79!) In closing, BUT GOD, BY FAITH....enough said! Get your focus off of you and onto Him, truly! Stop being prideful! Humble yourself today by submitting to HIs greatness! Sermon by me, for me! :) Love yall! Update on my boring and crazy life later.... :)
* By faith believe that You are worth more b/c HE made you worth more, and then you will live as one worth more and then you will be victorious! I like that formula! Amen! :)