Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions (14 page)

S
elfishness is not learned behavior; we are born with it. The Bible refers to it as “sin nature.” Adam and Eve sinned against God by doing
what He told them not to do, and the sin principle they established was forever passed to every person who would ever be born. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and to deliver us from them. He came to undo what Adam did. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He comes to live in our spirit, and if we allow that renewed part of us to rule our decisions, we can overcome the sin nature in our flesh. It doesn’t go away, but the greater One Who lives in us helps us overcome it daily (see Gal. 5:16). That does not mean that we never sin, but we can improve and make progress throughout our lives.

I certainly cannot say I have overcome selfishness entirely—none of us can on this side of eternity. But that doesn’t mean we don’t do everything we can to grow closer to God and die to our selfishness. We can have hope of improving daily. I am on a journey and, although I may not arrive, I have determined that when Jesus comes to take me home He will find me pressing toward this goal (see Phil. 3:12–13).

The apostle Paul made the following statement: “… It is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Paul meant that he was no longer living for himself and his own will, but for God and His will. I was greatly encouraged when I discovered through study that Paul made this statement approximately twenty years
after
his conversion. Learning to live unselfishly was a journey for him, just as it is for everyone else. Paul also said, “… I die daily…” (1 Cor. 15:31). In other words, putting others first was a daily battle and required daily decisions. Each of us must decide how we will live and what we will live for; and there is no better time to do so than right now.

I
am sure you have heard John Donne’s famous line,
“No man is an island.”
These words are simply a way of expressing the fact that people need each other and affect each other. Our lives can and do affect other people, and we need to be sure we affect them in positive ways. Jesus told us to love one another because that is the only way the world will know He exists (see John 13:34–35).

God is love, and when we show love in our words and actions, we are showing people what God is like. Paul said we are God’s ambassadors, His personal representatives, and He is making His appeal to the world through us (see 2 Cor. 5:20). Each time I think of that Scripture all I can say is,
“Wow! What a privilege and responsibility.”

One of the lessons I had to learn in life was that I could not have privilege without responsibility. That is one of the problems in our world today. People want what they are not willing to deserve. Selfishness says,
“Give it to me. I want it and I want it now.”
Wisdom says,
“Do not give me anything I am not mature enough to handle properly.”
The world is lacking in gratitude and, in large part, that’s because we no longer want to wait or sacrifice for anything. I have found the things I am the most thankful for are the ones for which I had to work hardest and wait longest. God knows best when we are ready to receive His gifts and share them in a way that will make a positive impact on the world.

F
or most of my life, I woke up every day and lay in bed making plans for myself. I thought of what I wanted, what would be best for me, and how I could convince my family and friends to cooperate with my plans. I got up and went about the day with myself on my mind, and each time things did not go my way I became upset, impatient, frustrated, and even angry. I thought I was unhappy because I wasn’t getting what I wanted, but I was actually unhappy because all I did was try to get what I wanted without any real concern for others. Do you ever behave this way?

Thankfully, I have discovered that the secret of joy is in giving my life away rather than trying to keep it, and now my mornings are quite different. This morning, before I began to work, I prayed and then took some time to think of all the people I knew I would come into contact with today. I then prayed through Romans 12:1, which speaks of dedicating ourselves to God as living sacrifices, offering up all our faculties to Him for His use.

As you think of the people you work with and will probably see today, ask the Lord to show you anything you might do for them. Set your mind to encourage them and be complimentary. Surely we can all find one nice thing to say to each person we meet. Simply trying to do so will help us keep our minds off ourselves. Trust the Lord to lead you as you go about your day.

T
he Bible is filled with instructions for us to be active. The direction to be active instead of passive is rather simple, but millions of people totally ignore it. Maybe they think things will get better on their own. But nothing good happens accidentally. Once I learned that, my life changed for the better.

The Bible says we are to
seek
to be kind and good (see 1 Thess. 5:15).
Seek
is a strong word meaning “to crave, pursue, and go after.” If we seek opportunities, we are sure to find them and that will protect us from being idle and unfruitful. We must ask ourselves if we are alert and active or passive and inactive? God is alert and active! I am glad He is; otherwise, things in our lives would deteriorate rapidly. God not only created the world and everything we see and enjoy in it, He also actively maintains it because He knows that good things do not simply occur; they happen as a result of right action (see Heb. 1:3).

God-inspired, balanced activity keeps us from being idle and unfruitful and thereby serves as a protection for us. Actively doing right things continuously will prevent us from doing wrong things.

D
uring the days when Jesus lived on earth, Pilate asked Him a question that has been raised through the centuries and is still being asked today: “What is Truth?” (John 18:38). Jesus had already answered this question plainly and simply: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). When praying to God in John 17:17, Jesus also said, “Your Word is Truth.” He not only knew the truth but when His own mind was being attacked by Satan, He spoke the truth of God’s Word out loud (see Luke 4:1–13). This is one of the most effective ways to “cast down” wrong thoughts, reasons, theories, and imaginations. I look at it as interrupting the devil in the midst of his temptation.

We are partners with God. Our part is to trust Him, to know His Word and believe it, and His part is to do whatever needs to be done in every situation. We cannot know the Word of God unless we dedicate ourselves to diligent reading and studying. Nobody would expect to be a successful doctor without studying, so why should people expect to be strong in their faith without doing the same thing?

God’s Word, the Bible, is truth. It teaches the truth; it teaches us a way to live that produces life. God’s Word has stood the test of time and been proven in millions of people’s lives over thousands of years. It works, if followed. I know this from years of personal experience
and from the countless times I have seen other people’s lives change in amazing ways simply because they believed and obeyed God’s truth.

W
orry does no good and can impact your life in negative ways. I’m sure you have noticed how absolutely powerless you feel when you worry or you’re anxious and troubled, because worry is indeed completely useless. It is a waste of time and energy because it never changes your circumstances.

I like to say worry is like sitting in a rocking chair, rocking back and forth; it’s always in motion and it keeps you busy, but it never gets you anywhere. Worry keeps you and me from living in faith and steals our peace. When we worry, we are actually saying, “If I try hard enough I can find a solution to my problem,” and that is the opposite of trusting God.

The cause of worry is simple: it’s the failure to trust God to take care of the various situations in our lives. Most of us have spent our lives trying to take care of ourselves, and it takes time to learn how to trust God in every situation. You learn by doing it. You have to step out in faith, and as you do you will experience the faithfulness of God, and that makes it easier to trust Him the next time. Too often we trust our own abilities, believing we can figure out how to take care of our own problems. Yet most of the time, after all our worry and effort to go it
alone, we come up short, unable to bring about suitable solutions. God, on the other hand, always has solutions for the things that make you anxious and worried.

Trusting Him allows you to enter His rest, and rest is a place of peace where you are able to enjoy life while waiting for Him to solve your problems. He cares for you; He will solve your problems and meet your needs, but you have to stop thinking and worrying about them.

W
hat is confidence? I believe confidence is all about being positive concerning what you can do and not worrying over what you can’t do. Confident people do not concentrate on their weaknesses; they develop and maximize their strengths.

Let’s say you are not a “numbers” kind of person. On a scale of 1 to 10, you might be a 3. You could obsess about your inability to “do the math.” You could buy
Math for Dummies
and take a class at the community college. But your math obsession could eat up time that could be devoted to stuff you’re an 8 or a 10 at—like teaching God’s Word, creative writing, or rallying support for charity. In other words, you might rob time and effort from the 10s in your life just to bring a lowly
3 up to a mediocre 5. When you look at it this way, it’s easy to see where you need to invest your efforts.

The world is not hungry for mediocrity. We really don’t need a bunch of 4s and 5s running around, doing an average job in life. This world needs 10s. I believe everyone can be a 10 at something.

Confidence allows you and me to face life with boldness, openness, and honesty. It enables us to live without worry and to feel safe. It enables us to live authentically. We don’t have to pretend to be somebody we’re not, because we are secure in who we are—even if we’re different from those around us. God has created every person in a unique way; yet, most people spend their lives trying to be like someone else and feeling miserable as a result. Trust me on this: God will never help you be some other person. He wants you to be you!