Do Your Best
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship.” – Romans 12:1 (NIV)
What do you notice about this verse? What jumped out at you?:
This past Sunday, Pastor Julius preached on a new series called “The Good Soldier” and during his message he discussed the ‘fear of failure’. The ‘fear of failure’ is the attitude of “if I start, I’ll fail, so why start”? Pastor Julius stated that some believers fall away from their God-given-calling, due to fear and went on to say that sometimes it’s not an external fight that you’re in, but it’s an internal fight, where a believer buys into the lies of enemy. Ephesians 6:12 states, “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (NIV).
The enemy is the ‘father of lies’ and the ‘ultimate deceiver’. His job is to sever and destroy all that God has planned for you and he does this by (first) getting into your head. He lies and tells you ‘God knows all the wrong you did, and so you can never be called for greater’. Yes! God is all-knowing and does know all of our faults and wrong-doings. However, He has still called YOU! From the very first chapter of the Bible, you can see how humans have continuously done wrong and God has still used them mightily for His kingdom. God knew Moses was a murdered, yet God used him to liberate thousands who were bound by slavery and oppression. God knew King David would commit adultery and murder and yet David is still adored by God as a psalmist and ‘man after God’s own heart’. God knew Rahab was a prostitute and yet she would be in the linage of Christ. God knew Peter (previously known as Simon) would deny him three times, but still Jesus stated in Matthew 16:18 “Now I say to you, that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it (NLT).” God knew Paul (previously Saul) was a Christian-killer, but He still called him to be one of the most renowned teachers, preachers, and apostles of Christ who wrote the majority of New Testament.
I don’t know about you, but I am grateful to serve a God that doesn’t define us by our faults and shortcomings, but by the fact that we are His children and He loves us. Of course, this doesn’t give us a ‘free-for-all’ to do as we please without accountability and repentance. We serve a holy, God and as believers we should always strive to be “living sacrifices, holy, and pleasing to God” in all we do. But… it’s reassuring to know that when we do fall short, and repent, God can still use us to glorify His perfect plan. Answer & Reflect on the following questions:
How does God want to use you this season? Do you know? Spend some time in reflection and prayer for His guidance. Does He want you to be bold in sharing your faith with others? Does He want you to strengthen your prayer life/ prayer language? Is He calling you to make fasting apart of your weekly routine? Does He want you to join a ministry team? Is He calling you to lead a crew etc.?Speak to the Lord and spend some time in prayer:
Father, thank You for this day. Thank You that You’ve given us another opportunity to be in-tune with Your Holy Spirit and in-line with Your purpose. I pray against the spirit of fear. I pray that the ‘fear of failure’ doesn’t contribute to falling away for our calling (s). I pray for the person reading this devotional, that You would protect them, and encourage them as they continue to walk with You, daily. Thank You for reminding us, that You can use anyone, to glorify Your heavenly purpose. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!