God Is More Than Able!

Romans 4:20-21 “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”

The Apostle Paul writes of Abraham’s relentless faith in the face of contradiction and delayed fulfilment of God’s promise to him. God was more than able to do what he had promised Abraham but for Abraham to receive the fulfilment of the promise, he had to hold steadfast his conviction in God’s goodness. God doesn’t promise you something if he doesn’t intend to bring it to fulfilment. If you’ve received a promise from God, hold steadfast to your conviction and do not waver. Press through the obvious obstacles in faith and keep giving glory to God, being fully convinced of his goodness toward you and his faithfulness to His word in your life. Selah!

The Source of Your Confidence!

Pop Culture promotes the idea that we are to have self-confidence. Self-confidence is a good quality to have but eventually we all let ourselves down at some point. People who only have self-confidence are doomed to hit rock bottom because none of us are self-saviours. We are all in desperate need of someone external to us to save us from ourselves, hence why Jesus lived, died on the cross and rose from the dead.

I am growing in confidence. I feel it developing everyday. God spoke to my heart recently about building a stronghold of confidence in my heart. The more I spend time with Jesus and discover more of who He is, the more He helps me discover more of who I am in Him. There is nothing so freeing like knowing who you are in God and being comfortable to be the best version of you God has called you to be.

The first step to greater confidence is not an evaluation of your talents or abilities but a revelation of God. As you grow in your awareness and insight into who God is, He gives you a revelation of who you are. Without a sure conviction of who you are in Christ, you are destined to come unstuck.

Regardless of the circumstances around me, I belong to Christ and I am seated with him in heavenly places. My worth and value is not determined by my efforts but by His love and grace lavishly extended to me. I am redeemed from the poison of sin and forcefully taken from the hands of the enemy. I am blessed and have access to every spiritual blessing in heaven. I have been chosen before the foundation of the world. I have an eternal inheritance and I am sealed by the power of the promised Holy Spirit. I belong to God and He is my Abba father. (Ephesians 1:1-14)

My confidence comes from knowing God is my Father and He delights in me as His son. Many of us struggle with real feelings of insecurity, unworthiness and condemnation, despising ourselves and skeptical of anything to do with God. I know what that feels like cause I lived in that place for a long time. But I have been set free by Jesus and when you know the truth, the truth shall set you free.

Where does your confidence come from? Have you based it entirely on your self, your bank account, your job, your contacts, your image, your reputation, your talents and your experiences? Anything other than a revelation of God as your Father is destined to crumble. The things of this world are temporal and passing away. The kingdom of God is a kingdom that cannot be shaken and will last for eternity.

The Oracle!

100% You!

I had a very engaging conversation with a friend and peer of mine recently who discussed with me the idea of being completely comfortable and secure in your own skin, as being a vital key to impacting ministry. I definitely agree.

I think there is a lot of imitation in ministry because people really don’t know to the core of their being who they are or really what God has called them to accomplish. Whilst we are all under construction and hopefully changing to be more and more like the character of Jesus, the truth is our gift mix and unique personality is largely fixed. We need to embrace completely whom God has created us to be if we are going to be able to minister into other people’s lives with what God has put into our hearts.

I love John the Baptist. He was a voice and not an echo of all the other voices around him. He wore camels hair, a leather belt and ate locusts and wild honey and yet didn’t flinch or miss a beat. He had his own unique fashion, diet and message, repent for the messiah is coming. Even when his own team tried to pressure him to do something because Jesus’ ministry was blowing up, he didn’t let it change who he was. He responded with, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegrooms voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase but I must decrease.’ (Jn 3:28-30)

What incredible security and confidence John had in the Father’s purpose and call on his life. We must come to the same point in our relationship with God too. Security is a relational thing, not a situational thing. Too many of us measure ourselves by our image, reputation and circumstance. Jesus made himself of no reputation. Paul could care less what he even thought of himself, let alone what other people thought of him. God wants us to get so caught up in our relationship with Him that we lose the need to prove anything other than live in the love, grace and call of God made freely available to us.

It’s time to be 100% YOU. That doesn’t mean you excuse yourself from growing and if necessary repenting but it means you get real comfortable with who you are and the skin you’re in. You’ve got to live with you, you may as well be at peace about it and even celebrate it. If you don’t enjoy being you, no one else is going to be you.

The Oracle!