I love watching sports (and playing some as well). One of the things I don't like is "trash talking". Men (usually) are so confident in themselves that they have to talk down to the other team or competitor before a game. That confidence can be misplaced sometimes!
Misplaced confidence is the topic of the devotional today. Many of us put too much confidence in things other than God. Things that aren't as reliable like money or fame or good looks. I don't have any of those things, but I am sort of smart. I know I put too much confidence in knowing stuff when in fact I don't know squat about the things that are really important!
Once again, this one hit me like a ton of Biblical bricks! My week of self-reflection and painful realizations continues with the reading this morning as God is performing another round of surgery on this old bear. I praise God and thank God, the master surgeon as he is making me the man he wants me to be. I am sorry that I am not more workable clay.
So where are you? In what or whom do you place your confidence? Trust God today.
Lord, thank you for being the ultimate in reliability! Help us always put our trust and confidence in you alone!
Simply Saturday
Self-justification
I have read a lot about Lance Armstrong the past few years. If you have been living under a rock (which some people accuse me of at times), Lance Armstrong is the famous cyclist who won a record seven Tour de France races in a row. He also had cancer and survived. He started a wonderfully inspiring foundation for cancer support and healthy living called Livestrong. Lance fervently maintained his innocence for many years after each accuser fell to the wayside with a lack of proof.
Recently, the drug testing and enforcement agency for cycling finally gathered all the evidence to take Lance down. Many, many pages of many, many documents detailed how he was the master mind behind an elaborate doping program that helped him and his teammates win race after race.
I don't blame Lance for being human, for desperately clinging to innocence and self-justification. Maintaining all the things that you are used to and retaining all the things you accomplished is a strong human need or tendency. Mankind has done all kinds of outlandish things over thousands of years in the name of innocence and self-justification. We perform rituals, whether religious or secular. We start wars. We flap our mouths with meaningless words of false piety. We do whatever we can to justify our actions and even our existence.
So it is no surprise that I finally had my self-justification epiphany last Sunday. It has been a very painful week for me as I have been dealing with the implications. My actions have not had the financial or professional implications that Lance had from his actions, but the implications were very personal and painful. I sent emails to those close to me that I hurt from my actions. At this point, I don't even know if they read my emails. Healing can happen because we all serve the great healer. Time and prayer will tell.
Realizing that some of the implications may be life changing or irreparable has been the most difficult thing to deal with. I created what I call my first "psalm mashup" on Monday:
I pray the weight of my sins doth not crush me back to dust from where I came. I pray that God create in me a new, clean heart and place a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Praise the Almighty God from whom all blessings flow.
Bottom line: it is better to get these painful things out in the open and let the healing begin. Sticking your head in the sand (or somewhere else) only makes things worse and you may not even know it. Be brave. Trust God. The Great Healer is on call.
Just a reminder to myself this week: I am a beloved child of God. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Now believe it, Duane If you never understood my text message: u r a bcog U r fawm. I just gave you the translation!
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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit - Romans 15:13
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