Faithful Blog

This last year has been very trying! Hardships have seemed to multiply and God has searched me and streched me. In my own strength I have never been really able to sing "very good." I could sing with a group of people, but not by myself. When the oppurtunity for this group came up I told God He was crazy and that I could not sing. He whispered back, "If I want you to, you can," and He faithfully gave me the strength to sing.
It seems that we always start out in faith and then go right back to our strength--our flesh. But God has called us to continue in faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God and do what He asks of us. So as the year has progressed God has been persistently calling me to sing in many different venues, even other than Faithful, and it always seems to get harder. :-)
A week ago I was sitting in my car practicing a song I was supposed to sing. I could not get it! It sounded horrible! I was almost in tears. I cried out to God, " Lord I am asking for Your strength, why is this so hard!?!" Frustrated I got out of the car and went into practice. When it came my turn to sing, everyone cheered me on, and I moped and frowned. Many times before I had quoted the verse to my friends, " The Lord is My Confidence." Yet it was said with this helpless look of I CANNOT DO THIS!
When I left that day the Lord gently said to me, "You do not really believe that." My heart sank--He was right. I had very piously said to my friends, "The Lord is my Confidence," and never really believed it. The truth was, as I held the microphone in my hand my heart was scared, anxious, and trembling. Yet I knew that God is a God of peace and He commands me not to be anxious. He even promised to give me peace if I only asked! I realized if I really was putting my confidence in God then I would not be anxious, my face would not look hopeless, and my words would truly reflect the peace of my heart.
My prayer is that you would stop relying on your own strength and put your confidence in God. Think about the things you confess--do you really believe them and live them out. God looks past our outward religious acts and He knows if we really trust Him. Does your heart really trust God? Can you truly confess "the Lord is my confidence?"

Amy

Posted by Rob Cornwell at 10:41 AM | Permalink

This past weekend during the ice storm, our house lost power one night. We were prepared with flashlights and candles, but nothing could rally prepare us for how dark it really got. Our whole subdivision was without power and you could see nothing but blackness outside. I even had to take a flashlight outside with me to take the dog out because it was so dark. It made me realize how much we take for granted the light. We started lighting candles around the house and before you knew it, the house was lit up again. It only took one little candle in each room for us to be able o see where were going. How amazing is that? One small flame to light up a whole room. It was pretty amazing to watch.

We as Christians should be having this same effect on people around us. We are called to be the candles in a darkening world. All it takes is one of us (the candle) to light up a whole room around us. We are called to spread God’s word with everyone around us. How many times do we take this for granted. How many times do we just blend into the darkness so we don’t make a scene.

So next time you are stuck in the dark, I challenge you to think of his verse: 2 Timothy 1:6, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” Don’t let your flame die out or become small, but fan it into flame and use the gifts God has given you to reach out to other people.

Lauren

Posted by Rob Cornwell at 11:23 AM | Permalink