“Every now and then, God needs to strip away the illusions and show us where the power is coming from — and where we can’t afford to rely upon it to come from.”- Kyle Idleman
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33 (NIV)
Kyle Idleman concludes Chapter 10 of Don’t Give Up as he talks about his love of the command from Scripture to “take heart.”
Yet, Pastor Idleman explains, on the surface these words don’t seem very helpful:
” . . . telling someone who is losing heart to ‘take heart’ is like telling someone who is hungry not to be hungry. It’s like telling that frightened child to be brave. But when the Bible tells us to take heart, it’s not a call to confidence in ourselves but to have confidence in God, based not on some contrived self-confidence but on confidence in who God is.”
For example, Judges 6 tells us that although Gideon lays low in a winepress threshing wheat, God sees him as a mighty warrior. However, God doesn’t give Gideon a halftime pep talk. Instead, Kyle notes, God speaks five little words: “I will be with you.”
Consequently, Gideon found his confidence in the power of God rather than in himself. Therefore, Pastor Idleman exhorts, Jesus is better than:
- worry ruling over your problems
- serving another hour of slavery to the impulses and temptations that bring you down
- a job that fails to glorify Jesus in the way you know it could
- your past, your present, and the most wonderful future you can imagine
Therefore, Kyle suggests:
” . . . instead of telling Jesus about your worries, talk back to those worries for a change. Interrupt them. Be downright rude to your worries and tell them about Jesus. Tell them he’s better – better than they are, better than the world itself. Worries never last, but Jesus is forever.”
Today’s question: What Scriptures sustain you when God strips away the illusions? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Heartbreak Hills – hitting the wall”
