Picky

It’s no secret that I’m a picky eater. Where I get it from, I have no idea. From early on, I can remember wanting my cheeseburgers with nothing but meat and cheese. My food can’t touch when it’s on my plate.
Subway sandwich-makers dearly love to see me come in because my sandwich is always the easiest to fix. Just get the bread…slap on some cheese, turkey meat, and bacon…and I’m good to go.
My salad (if you can call it that) consists of bacon bits, cheese, eggs, kidney beans, and fat-free thousand island dressing. (stop laughing!)

It is amazing though how that my pickiness has drifted into my every-day journey with Christ. There are just some things I don’t want to eat. Would it be good for me? Sure. Would I possibly find out that I actually enjoyed it? Sure. But somehow I make up my mind…I am not taking that in.

National Mall
(Washington, D.C.)

Apparently, deep down, I expect that my walk with Him is always going to be filled with sunshine and roses. But when my ‘food’ starts running together on my ‘plate’, I just want to take it to the sink and not eat it.

David said in, Psalm 34:8:’ O taste & see that the Lord is GOOD: blessed is the man who trusteth in Him.’ (KJV)

You see, we can gorge ourselves when our meal is prepared the way we like it. But when it comes to having to ‘suffer’ through one we just don’t like, we nibble around the edges…nibbling just enough to hold us until we can later run through a drive-thru and get what we really want.

Conowingo Dam
(Darlington, MD)

Sometimes God doesn’t give us exactly what we want or how we want it. There are moments when a ‘dish’ is served…that we didn’t order. Yet, it’s God’s way of knowing what’s best for each of us. He never said that everything was going to taste good…He simply said to trust what He gives you, and then you will see that He is good.

Go ahead and consume Romans 8:28: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (KJV)

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"Duties are ours, events are God's; When our faith goes to meddle with events, and to hold account upon God's Providence, and beginneth to say, 'How wilt Thou do this or that?' we lose ground;
(Samuel Rutherford)

In following Christ, we can’t be picky eaters. Taste and see…you just might be surprised. 

Go ahead....Jump

Confidence is such a difficult thing to battle with. It is like a never-ending roller coaster that can’t stop making the loops, round and round and round. You climb slowly…you ‘top out’…then back down you go, and around the loop our lives continue to roll.

Where confidence shows itself outwardly is in the fact that, many times, we can’t look others in the eye. A few years ago I had the privilege of meeting a hero of mine. I did not realize he was going to be at the same event I was at. And out of nowhere, I turned the corner and came face-to-face with him. I was introduced to him, and literally could not look him in the eyes.

Sometimes it seems as though a person’s greatness makes them better than us. And we all know that’s not even close to the real case.

But I have come to realize that the greatest battle with confidence comes not when dealing with someone else…it’s in the inward battle that we can never seem to completely defeat.

(Forest Hill, MD)

Failure. Doubt. Worry. Reached the end of our rope. Back against the wall. All these symbolisms of where we often find ourselves tears at the very fabric of our inner self-worth to the point where we can’t even summon enough courage to look our own selves in the eye. What we lose sight of in reality though is, what it does to our faith.

We won’t take giant leaps, because ‘what if…’
I’ve tried so many times before but I can’t…
No one really believes I can, so…

I’ve had to really work, as of late, to convince myself that I really can’t do it. Sounds weird, right? In truth, this is genuinely what faith is all about.

As a husband, father, and man (and I stress the ‘man’ part), I always think that…I can work this out. Half the time I can’t even look myself in the mirror…but I’m still determined that…I can work it out. I’ll figure something out.

(Inner Harbor)
Baltimore, MD

But it has taken my present reality to realize, ‘you can’t figure this one out’. Why? Because I’ve literally taken a leap off this imaginary cliff where only God can catch me. Living where I can figure things out, is the safe place to be. I really don’t have to depend on God’s miraculous power when I stay in the place ‘I know.’

I understand we have common sense for a reason, but when was the last time you took such a God-impressed leap of faith that you couldn’t figure out what was next? Where if He doesn’t come through, then you are through. If He doesn’t perform a miracle, then where is your answer going to come from? It’s no wonder we struggle with confidence because we really are not convinced that the Maker of all things…will come through.

(Forest Hill, MD)

Get in front of the mirror. Get your head up. Speak into your life that you are His, and that you can do ALL THINGS through Him who strengthens you. Lose your confidence in your own abilities – get them out of the way – and jump…

Larry’s International Version:
With God…there’s never a dull moment. (Vs. 1 – Chapter 1)