Nick of Time

Man, God certainly inundates us with exactly what we need to hear when we need to hear it.

I had been struggling with feelings of inadequacy recently. I lead some pretty STELLAR people in Youth Impact, and it makes me feel for Moses. I mean, I even know God has given me SOME semblance of skills in leadership, so I can't IMAGINE what Moses felt like when God told Him what He had in store. "Say WHAA?" And I think, because I'm a self-aware person(and self critical often) and because I set high standards for myself and because this Christian bubble seems to be the spiritual equivalent of HOLLYWOOD sometimes, airbrushed and tweaked and striving for external perfection, I just feel like poop. I'm trying to live up to a standard that I can't live up to. I'm thinking, all these other people have it all together. What in the blue blazes is wrong with me? Why can't I pull myself together and be perfect? It appears that we have a problem.

And then God came down. First He told me through Tim Hawks that past failures, although COPIOUS in amount, do not a failure future make. We get in this mindset that because we've seen how messed up we are, we see absolutely no hope for victory of hope in the future which leads to hopelessness. This hopelessness leads us to throw in the towel in the present. This is a lie. Jesus when He died KNEW that we would jack up what seems sometimes like every 30 seconds of our lives. He knew that there would be times when we would cry out in thirst for Him and times when we would ineffectively quench our thirst for Him with trivial things only to come crawling back shriveled, weary and desperate. He knew we would be sheep and STUPID and scared. And I pray for Him to break my legs. Shepherds would break the legs of their lambs and carry them over their shoulders until healed, forming a bond between animal and human that would cause the sheep to follow their master from then on. Painful, yes, but the shepherd knew what was ultimately good for the sheep. I pray for God to break my legs. I know some would caution me to be careful about what I pray for, but what better shepherd to trust than the one who knit me together?

Anyway, THEN he brought my lovely roommate along with 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for MY power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It speaks for itself.

Then, finally, these words from a random blogger that spoke directly to my soul:

In order to understand the magnitude of Jesus’ love, we must first realize the magnitude of our sin. We must know and continually acknowledge that without a Savior, we are hopeless. BUT, and here’s the great part- when Jesus shows us sin in our life, he is not calling us to more guilt or punishment. There is no punishment left. He is simply calling us to more love. He does not point out our shortcomings and failures to make us pity our fallen condition. He does this so that our heart’s capacity to love him can grow out of our intense awareness of just how desperately we need him. Jesus has always and will always love us well. And in return, he continually asks us to deflate our egos, gaze in wonder and gratitude at the cross, and love him in appropriate proportion to his forgiveness.


MAN. Talk about a concentrated form of GRACE. And all of this good word in one day. What a wise Father we have. I am unworthy, but that unworthiness is beautiful. I hope that you are encouraged by the words as I have been, and I hope you glorify GOD for His sovereignty displayed in my life today.

Grace and Peace,

KP