Apr 27 2018 Confident and Fearless
Surrender your heart to God, turn to Him in prayer, and give up your sins- even those you do in secret. Then you won’t be ashamed; you will be confident and fearless.
Job 11:13-15 CEV
This passage from Job is my favorite of 2018 so far. I find I whisper these words to myself almost daily. Because I love this scripture, I decided to dissect it and go deeper. Care to join me?
Surrender your heart~
The Greek word for heart is kardia, meaning the affective center of our being. From Strong’s Concordance
Vines Greek New Testament Dictionary explains, “… the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life.”
Our hearts are tender, easily broken, vulnerable, and the center of everything we are—the hidden springs of our person. Thus, here is the crux of our faith walk: presenting and trusting this tender part of ourselves to our Savior every. Single. Day.
Christina Rossetti
Turn to Him in prayer~
Prayer is a conversation with God, the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in directly addressing him. Christiananswers.net
The NIV version of this verse says, “Stretch out your hands towards Him.” What a powerful picture of postured prayer. As my year of Surrender continues, I notice myself praying this way. When I am grasping onto something in my heart, I physically reach my hands towards God as I pray for release.
“The right way to pray is to stretch out our hands and ask of One who we know has the heart of a Father.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Give up your sins~
2. Any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. 3. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense. Dictionary.com
I noticed a few weeks ago that discouragement had crept in. I was a walking sign – allowing difficult health and a relationship strain to control my outlook. This was not yielding to God, this was sin.
I repented, grateful to God for His conviction and for filling me with hope and courage again.
It is never too late to give up our sins, change, repent, or rededicate ourselves to God.
“If you’re truly His child, you can know that when you do sin, God will teach you a lesson through it and use it to change you more into His likeness.” Kay Arthur
Then,
You won’t be ashamed. You will be confident and fearless~
“You’ll be able to face the world unashamed and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless.” Job 11:15 The Message
He is not a God of shame
When there is sin, we often feel ashamed. The shame diminishes as we come to God, release our sins, and begin to walk in victory. Our sins erased because of Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection. We are forgiven; God is not ashamed of us.
The deeper I yield to God, the less ashamed I feel. In turn, I grow and grow and grow in confidence and bravery.
“The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As we surrender our kardia to God, stretch out our hands in prayer, and release our sins, then we have confidence in Christ and do not need to fear. He has called us to courage.
And it all begins with surrender.
Reflection:
- In what way does this scripture reflect your faith walk?
- Where and how are you struggling with surrender, prayer, and sin?
- For more, read Romans 6:13, Mark 8:34, Galatians 2:20, and Joshua 1:9.
When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.
Rick Warren
Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash
Gena
Posted at 04:37h, 29 AprilI love this! So much to think about and what a great verse. Good questions at the end. Thank you.
Kristin Saatzer
Posted at 02:08h, 05 MayThank you Gena!
Karen Slusher
Posted at 16:29h, 01 MayThank you for my Kardia check-up. It certainly is not as healthy as God wants it to be. My strength comes from my savior and his healing grace.
Kristin Saatzer
Posted at 02:07h, 05 MayYes it does! xoxo