Trust
In my last post, I wrote about the negative things that people are capable of. And it's true. But we are also capable of pretty amazing things.
Today I was privileged to be a part of leading a group of truly incredible teenagers as they led our congregation in worship. The messages these youth gave, the ways they shared of themselves, it was truly awesome.
The thing that is so wonderful about children and teenagers is that they believe they can do things that we adults have become too afraid to do. I'm not saying children and teens don't have fears - they definitely do. But they have different kinds of fears. And they see things that we don't see. They trust in ways that we lose the ability to trust.
Jesus said we need to come to him with faith like a child. A child - one who is truly able to experience the freedom of being a child - trusts with total abandon. That is what we are called to do. We are called to trust God with all we are, all we have, with our dreams, our hopes, our fears. We give it all to God. And we trust, whatever happens next, that God will be with us, loving us, supporting us, helping us, seeing us through.
And when we trust in that way, it's amazing what we can do. Yes, we are capable of some hurtful things, some things that harm us and those around us. We are capable of awful things that we don't want to think we could ever do. But we are also capable of amazing things.
Parents tell children they can do anything, be anything. And children believe them and dream big. Well guess what - God is telling us we can do anything, be anything. We can do ALL THINGS through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13). So dream big. Don't let fear stop you. Because when you REALLY trust God with your life, you can do huge, amazing things in his name, not because of who you are, but because of who God is. God wants to work through each of us. We just have to let go and trust.
This isn't easy for me. But the thing is that true trust acts despite fears. I heard an analogy when I was in Atlanta - 2 people are going on the same plane. Person 1 is terrified of flying, every slight bump is an indicator that the plane is going to crash in his mind. Person 2 flies all the time and is totally confident of reaching her destination. But the thing is while these 2 people had different levels of trust in the plane - they both acted on that trust on got on the plane, and they both will end up in the same place.
Our trust will ebb and flow. But if we keep acting on whatever trust we have, God will come through. Sometimes it will be to a great success and celebration. Other times he will be picking us up from a failure. But God is big enough to handle either one. We just have to take that first step in faith, and see what happens next.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~ Marianne Williamson
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Today I was privileged to be a part of leading a group of truly incredible teenagers as they led our congregation in worship. The messages these youth gave, the ways they shared of themselves, it was truly awesome.
The thing that is so wonderful about children and teenagers is that they believe they can do things that we adults have become too afraid to do. I'm not saying children and teens don't have fears - they definitely do. But they have different kinds of fears. And they see things that we don't see. They trust in ways that we lose the ability to trust.
Jesus said we need to come to him with faith like a child. A child - one who is truly able to experience the freedom of being a child - trusts with total abandon. That is what we are called to do. We are called to trust God with all we are, all we have, with our dreams, our hopes, our fears. We give it all to God. And we trust, whatever happens next, that God will be with us, loving us, supporting us, helping us, seeing us through.
And when we trust in that way, it's amazing what we can do. Yes, we are capable of some hurtful things, some things that harm us and those around us. We are capable of awful things that we don't want to think we could ever do. But we are also capable of amazing things.
Parents tell children they can do anything, be anything. And children believe them and dream big. Well guess what - God is telling us we can do anything, be anything. We can do ALL THINGS through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13). So dream big. Don't let fear stop you. Because when you REALLY trust God with your life, you can do huge, amazing things in his name, not because of who you are, but because of who God is. God wants to work through each of us. We just have to let go and trust.
This isn't easy for me. But the thing is that true trust acts despite fears. I heard an analogy when I was in Atlanta - 2 people are going on the same plane. Person 1 is terrified of flying, every slight bump is an indicator that the plane is going to crash in his mind. Person 2 flies all the time and is totally confident of reaching her destination. But the thing is while these 2 people had different levels of trust in the plane - they both acted on that trust on got on the plane, and they both will end up in the same place.
Our trust will ebb and flow. But if we keep acting on whatever trust we have, God will come through. Sometimes it will be to a great success and celebration. Other times he will be picking us up from a failure. But God is big enough to handle either one. We just have to take that first step in faith, and see what happens next.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~ Marianne Williamson
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
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