Daily Lift: New Creature!
2 Corinthians 3:12
12 Since we have such [glorious] hope (such joyful and confident expectation), we speak very freely and openly and fearlessly.
Being bold was never a part of my makeup until recently. Although many who know me would have said that I was outgoing, talkative, and friendly, I avoided conflict and confrontation at all costs, which multiplied my people-pleasing issues immensely.
No conflict or confrontation in my life had ever turned out well, hence the avoidance. I didn’t have the skills to work through an issue until a compromise or agreement could be reached. I always believed that being right meant winning the argument; it took me almost a lifetime to realize that being right doesn’t necessarily mean your issue will be resolved.
Even after taking several classes on conflict resolution, I still struggled with taking a stand, defending it, and not getting apprehensive with my counterparts. I doubted myself, my views, and my knowledge of the subjects that centered on the conflicts.
Then one day someone opposed to my point of view asked me, “Well, what DO you know?” The question sparked something in me, and I began to speak about what I knew……to be true, a fact, something that could be proven. Hence, my tag line: This is what I know.
This is what I know: I have become bold in my speech because of the experiences I have had on my journey with God. My confidence comes from His ability to heal both physically and emotionally. I know about His provision, for I have lost everything and have witnessed Him restore better than what was lost while providing for all our needs along the way. I am sure that He will vindicate me in any situation, and that I can rest in Him rather than fight my own battles.
I can also boast about how much He loves me, has never lost hope in me, or given up on me no matter how many times I ask Him questions that expose my insecurities. His patience is unending; His grace extends when I don’t deserve it, and His mercy has saved me from what I should have been punished for.
I can speak freely about what He has done in and through me because not one of you can convince me it wasn’t God. I know how I was…….how all the twists and turns of life had wrecked me into pools of tears that usually resulted in bouts of depression. Now I rest in knowing that He has already solved the problem before I even see it manifest before me. I was crippled with fears of all kinds, and now every fear that beset me is gone…….. my life now has no limits.
I am not leery to be confronted about God in any way…….for as with Paul, I don’t boast about anything that I have done, but what HE has done IN me……and I am a new creature in Christ.
