WHAT IS YOUR SELF LIFE?

Self-consciousness can kill faith and rob us of our God-given destiny. It is a manifestation of what the Bible calls living in the ‘old self’, because it concentrates more on me and my weaknesses, strengths or needs, than it does on the Lord. Self-consciousness can take on a number of faces. For some people it takes the form of egoism. Whatever our purpose in life, we need big hearts not big heads. I’ve come across people — I’m sure you have, too — who, because of their talent, think they’re God’s gift to planet earth. I feel like packing them off marked ‘return to sender’. Talented people have a responsibility to use their gift for service. When God gives you a lot, he expects a lot… Luke 12:48

For other people, self-consciousness expresses itself in a strong inferiority complex. One of Satan’s favourite ploys is to accuse us of hypocrisy. ‘You’re not qualified to do anything for God,’ he riles. We must remember that success in God’s eyes is not measured by our talent, our qualifications or even our self-esteem. It is measured by our obedience. As we simply obey God, doing all that he tells us to do, we can shrug off the enemy’s jibes, stand tall in faith, and overcome any crippling self-consciousness.

Colossians 3:9-10 ‘…you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.’(NIV)

Prayer: Father, I humble myself again before you today. I thank you that my worth as a person doesn’t come from my own achievements; it comes from the fact that you love me, that Jesus died for me, and that I can walk in obedience to your purpose for my life.’

GIVE GOD YOUR HURTS AND YOUR HEARTS

In your life, you will be hurt by others; sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. How you handle that hurt determines your happiness. When you bottle up hurt in your life and hold onto it, that is called resentment. If somebody hurt you years ago and you’re still holding onto it, it will poison your life. For your own health and happiness, you must learn to forgive.

The Bible says forgive and be forgiven. In fact, Jesus says, “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (Matthew 6:15 TEV). They’re inter-related.

For your own sake, let go of the past. If somebody hurt you, let go of it, release them. That’s one of the values of prayer. It helps you unload. Forgiveness is the only way to get rid of the past. Forgive them and let it go. Get on with life. Forgiveness erases the videotape of that hurt memory that keeps playing over and over in your mind.

Today, my wife Sonja and I are celebrating our 7^th anniversary. In my own marriage, the times I’ve felt closest to my wife, the times of most intimacy and oneness, have been times after an upset or blow up. We’ve worked the thing through, we’ve both confessed to each other and asked forgiveness, and we give our hearts to each other anew. The oneness that comes out of that kind of experience just can’t be explained.

When we let go of our hurts and release our hearts in forgiveness to others, we are reflecting the grace of our heavenly Father who forgave us and continues to forgive us. It means we’ve given God our love; we’ve given God our lives, and, in doing that, we reflect God and truly worship God.