Skip to main content

IBS 9 - 2 Corinthians 1:12

2 Corinthians 1:12
“Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.”

I am someone who used to rely on worldly wisdom. I forgot to rely on God’s grace. I would think I needed approval from people. I would compare myself to my friends all the time. If they got better grades then me when we were in school, I would get upset with myself and told myself I wasn’t good enough. If they were anything better then me I would get upset and say to myself “why can’t I be more like them? Why can’t I be better?” I was very insecure and I really put myself down constantly worrying about how others saw me.  Proving myself to people did nothing for me. It just made me feel worse about myself. All the while, God was telling me, “My grace is sufficient for you! I’m here! Focus on me, you don’t need to worry about what others think about you. I love you!”
I’m so thankful for God’s grace. He didn’t judge me on how well I did in school. He’s gracious to me. He loves me. He’s constantly telling me that I don’t have to prove myself. That, with Him, I am good enough. That this world isn’t going to be the one to judge me when the end comes. That is such a relief. 
It took me a while to learn that. I don’t need human approval, as long as I have God’s. And he loves. He’ll never leave me or forsake me. He’s so gracious to me. He will never let me down. I’ve learned and am still learning that I just need to be myself. I don’t need to try to be like anyone else. I completely understand that and I have such freedom in that. But sometime’s it’s still hard. It’s a battle that I just have to be reminded to rely on God’s grace everyday.


Application: I will write out RELY ON GOD’S GRACE on a piece of paper and keep it in my box so that I’ll be reminded every day to do that. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BS 34 - John 15:15

John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  Jesus is powerful and mighty. God’s son. And He calls us His friends. Jesus desires us to be friends with Him. He loves us so much, and He wants us to love Him back. It sucks when you love someone who doesn’t love you back. The fact that our God, King of Kings, the one who created everything wants a relationship with us is very humbling. And we all know that relationships take work.  When Jesus calls us to be His friends, He didn’t mean that we are friends that don’t have to try. To be in any sort of relationship, you have to be there, be present, and willing to listen and talk. It’s so easy to forget that. When I was growing up I would talk to God, but it was the type of prayers that you’re taught in Sunday School. It was never heart felt, and I just rambled on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

IBS 56 - Revelations 3:19-20

Revelation 3:19-20 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.” I don’t like being disciplined. I don’t like getting in trouble so I try my hardest to not do wrong. To stay away from authoritative figures. The Lord is an authoritative figure, but He’s also Father. He loves me to literal death. He’s not someone I should try to stay away from. And because He loves me, he rebukes and disciplines me. A good parent doesn’t let their kid get away with being disobedient. They discipline the kid because they love them and want them to grow up and behave, be a good adult one day. That’s how God is. He rebukes me because He wants me to live correctly, to behave, and understand.  I shouldn’t be afraid of that. Because it shows me how much God cares for me. How much He wants me to be closer to Him. Being rebuked an...
Post a Comment
Read more

IBS 44 - Philippians 3:11

Philippians 3:11 “And so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” That is so powerful. Achieving resurrection from death. Jesus raised Himself from the dead. That’s insane. When people say they don’t care to follow Christ or they don’t believe He’s got power, they’re wrong. First of all, there are so many proofs of God’s amazing power. But here, He raised Himself from death. That’s power. I believe that. But I’m really good at diminishing the power He has. I forget the intensity of it, putting it in a little box and then going on about my day. The fact that God created this universe, breathed life into my nostrils, and could take my life at any second should just always be a constant reminder of how powerful He is. For some reason, though, I just don’t think about it. I fully believe the power He has, I just make it seem not as big of a deal then it is. And it’s a pretty big deal. God is someone I always want to follow after, someone I always want to obey.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more