Living Water Church

I was praying for myself this week in my time with the Lord.  As I considered and prayed about my own weaknesses, I felt like the Lord gave me this prayer to pray for myself.  It so touched me that I wrote it down so that I could pray it over myself again.

Lord, give me gentleness beyond my personality;

give me wisdom beyond my years;

give me forgiveness beyond my strength;

give me loving-kindness beyond my emotions.

I find that it is so easy to react to “things” based on my personality.  So in essence, my prayer is asking God to help me go beyond that which is my natural inclination.  For example, I have a strong, lion-type personality.  So, it is easy for me to speak with authority but it’s not so natural for me to speak with gentleness.  In my prayer, I am asking God to help me “go beyond” that which is natural.

You are different from me.  You have a different personality with different strengths and weaknesses.  So this prayer might not work for you.  But consider putting in your own “go beyond” phrases.  I want to be a person that is not ruled by my personality.  Nor, do I want to be ruled by my strengths, my weaknesses, or my natural inclinations.  My cry is that the Holy Spirit will reign in me.

The last 2 Sundays I have given sermons on the topics of waiting and fear.  These are two areas that many of us, including myself, have to face and deal with frequently.  Why is waiting so hard?  Why do we easily become fearful?  Perhaps because we don’t feel like we are in control.  I love to feel in control… of my life, of my circumstances, of my feelings.  I hate it when things feel like they are spiraling out of control.

But you know what, God likes to be in control too.  In fact, for Him it isn’t just a feeling, it’s a reality.  He is in control.  Sometimes I think He sits up in heaven amused by our vain attempts to control our circumstances.  He seems to let us go on for awhile, feeling like we’re in control.  Then often (for our own good) he throws in a curve ball.  And the test is this – how do we react?   Do we get angry at life’s troubles?  Do we get fearful?  Do we just pull up our boot straps and try to regain control?  We all react differently to hard circumstances.

When God allows life to get rocky, He is after something in us.  When we are “in control” we tend to trust in ourselves.  But, when life gets difficult, and we feel things are out of control, God wants us to surrender and just trust in Him.  Ps. 138:8 comforts me.  It says, “The Lord will work out His plans for my life—for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.”

David McNabb’s message last week was amazing.  I was impacted by his thoughts on evangelism.  Sometimes I’m silent about my faith because I don’t want to offend someone.  So because I fear being pushy, I don’t say anything at all.  Can you relate?   Additionally, I have reacted to Christians who try to argue someone “into the kingdom.”  The problem is that if we can “argue someone in” the enemy will send someone behind us to “argue them back out.”

It seems like the enemy’s strategy is to attack us on both ends—on one hand, get us to remain silent.  Or on the opposite extreme, we can drown someone with the Gospel.  I have been guilty of both.

So what David said really impacted me.  He talked about how he simply lives his faith.  It’s the basis for everything He does.  For the customers he encounters on a daily basis, he prays for God to bring them to salvation.  He shows people kindness and mercy.  He acts justly.  He is a servant.  Ultimately, he just shows love and care for everyone he encounters.  He lives his faith by action and deed.

In a world dominated by self-love and selfishness, people are starving for love.  David’s life exudes joy and peace.  He is kind and considerate.  As he cares for those around him, people keep wondering what is different about him.  And ultimately, they want what he has—hope in a Savior.  “They will know that we are Christians by our love.”  Live your faith.