On the trail again and realizing that the more Scripture I read, the more I come to recognize that Biblical Truth is absolutely counter to what the culture teaches us.
In the world that we live in we are encouraged to think highly of 
ourselves. To think much of our abilities and to think big thoughts, dream big dreams, and to believe we are the future. We are also taught that WE are the sole owners of SELF. We are told to BE anything we want to be, DO anything we want to do, and LIVE in the fashion that fulfills US. It sounds good, like a self-esteem pep talk. But that is all it is…a pep talk. If you spend your life telling yourself you are awesome, you are not telling yourself the truth. But, if you spend your life telling yourself the truth that God is the Awesome one and that He created you to be His instrument in this world, and it is a privilege to serve him in any way He chose for you…that is Truth and you will find freedom and a Biblically sound mind.
- According to Scripture WE do not own ourselves.
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” 1 Cor 6:19-20
- According to Scripture WE were not created to be anything we want to be.
“All things were created by Him and for Him.” Col 1:16
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a________________” Jer 1:5
- According to Scripture WE are not to just DO anything we want to do
“Do not use your freedom to indulge in the sinful nature.” Gal 5:13
- According to Scripture WE are not to LIVE to fulfill ourselves.
“we make it our goal to please Him.” 2 Cor 5:9
Today’s Truth: Romans 12:3
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
Do you think Biblically about yourself? The true route to freedom and healing of a damaged self esteem is not to pump yourself up, but rather to build yourself up in the Truth about who you are in Christ and the Truth about His involvement in your life.
To think of myself with sober judgement is to take a reality look at who I am, how I am living, and who I belong to. It is a humility of thought about myself. This humility does not make me a doormat to the world, but humility is strength in God rather than relying on strength in my self. Humility is dependence. Humility is understanding that God is my Sole Provider, and looking to Him for all things.
Just this year our Design4Living conference was better than ever. It seemed to go seamless and people are asking the team what was different. Without hesitation I can say that I believe the difference was that we were all more dependent on God than in any of the previous years. We each were walking through a season of “brokenness” and as a result needed, really needed, God’s strength to do anything for Him. The results were seen in this particular conference, because though we were the vessels that worked, God was the master of the entire event.
You may be thinking, isn’t that a no brainer? Don’t all Christians trust in God this way?
No. Simply No. It would be great if we all thought less of ourselves and more of God. It would be great if the good and the strength we see in ourselves from time to time would be fully attributed to God. But it’s not usually so. Why? Because it’s natural for us to trust in ourselves.
Today let’s do something super-natural, let’s not think more highly of ourselves than we should. In doing this, let’s humble ourselves to the point of actually believing that all we are and all we have is a direct result of the mercy of God.
Today’s Prayer
Teach me Lord to view myself according to Biblical wisdom and truth.
I read your devotional blog most every morning. It is always a welcome reminder of Jesus in the middle of my morning. Yesterday (when you wrote this) I was swamped at work – no time to breathe, let alone read… and so when I read it just now, I couldn’t believe how this was like a giant exclamation mark onto what God had shown me just yesterday:)
I had been studying Ruth, Chapter 2 for our Wednesday night Bible Study, and just thinking about her all day. It is an amazing story, an incredible chapter of the provision of a kinsman redeemer. But, God knew exactly what needed to be communicated to my spirit… the theme I continuously meditated on throughout the day was how Ruth viewed herself. She saw herself as an outcast (I can’t imagine how the Jewish women treated her when she showed up in town with Naomi), as unworthy (I never realized how highly esteemed / respecte / wealthy Boaz really was), and how much she appreciated just being able to work behind the workers and pick up the scraps from his field.
It’s “easy” to see the parallels between Boaz & Jesus, but I never really thought much about how I do/don’t parallel with Ruth. Do I really sense my complete unworthiness and therefore grasp the incrediblenss of Jesus? My prayer over these two days has been that Jesus would be magnified – not because He can be made bigger, but because of how my mind just shrinks Him….
I wish I could explain it more clearly, how God uses your words to show me His love… thank you for so faithfully sharing the heart of Jesus on your blog, which God had me read today instead of yesterday … just to reinforce the reality of His gentle loving patient gracious sanctification of this daughter’s imperfect, wounded, human, Jesus-loving heart 🙂
Oh Lord, be magnified!