God needs the real you - 2 Corinthians 5:20
May 21, 2011
2 Corinthians 5:20 (The Message) We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.
After putting up a façade of perfection for many years, I still struggle with the fact that God uses my weaknesses to touch the lives of others. Whether I write, minister to the ill, facilitate a small group or tell others about Christ, I have to be real. I struggled with believing that God even existed. I couldn’t believe that he would come through for me during my saddest times. I didn’t want to give up my false sense of control and my many weaknesses. I just didn’t believe that God loved me.
The Lord was waiting for me to surrender all when he became real in my life. The refining process has been sobering since he changed my life. Honestly, I would rather say that I’ve been a perfect Christian all my life, but that isn’t true. I have to tell my story, so people understand that God meets and greets them when they are ready to trust him. As Pastor Rick Warren writes, “While we think we encourage other people with our strength, it's often those things we want to keep hidden that speak to them.”
God works through you to reach others with his love and compassion. When you step out of your protected comfort zone, amazing things happen. People are moved by your care, by your experience and by the way God works in your life. I’ve been told countless times how my encouragement was timely for someone struggling with faith issues. Those who struggle with a control-freak nature can also identify with my issues – and on and on…
Letting others know about my struggles requires courage and self-assurance. But there is no greater reward than being equipped and encouraged by God to share his love with others. As it turns out, my biggest weaknesses are indeed my strengths.
To God be the glory!
2 Corinthians 5:20 (The Message) We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.
After putting up a façade of perfection for many years, I still struggle with the fact that God uses my weaknesses to touch the lives of others. Whether I write, minister to the ill, facilitate a small group or tell others about Christ, I have to be real. I struggled with believing that God even existed. I couldn’t believe that he would come through for me during my saddest times. I didn’t want to give up my false sense of control and my many weaknesses. I just didn’t believe that God loved me.
The Lord was waiting for me to surrender all when he became real in my life. The refining process has been sobering since he changed my life. Honestly, I would rather say that I’ve been a perfect Christian all my life, but that isn’t true. I have to tell my story, so people understand that God meets and greets them when they are ready to trust him. As Pastor Rick Warren writes, “While we think we encourage other people with our strength, it's often those things we want to keep hidden that speak to them.”
God works through you to reach others with his love and compassion. When you step out of your protected comfort zone, amazing things happen. People are moved by your care, by your experience and by the way God works in your life. I’ve been told countless times how my encouragement was timely for someone struggling with faith issues. Those who struggle with a control-freak nature can also identify with my issues – and on and on…
Letting others know about my struggles requires courage and self-assurance. But there is no greater reward than being equipped and encouraged by God to share his love with others. As it turns out, my biggest weaknesses are indeed my strengths.
To God be the glory!
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