I remember a few years ago, when I decided that it was time I began crossing items off my bucket list. For those of you who have not given your mortality a lot of thought, a bucket list is the things you’ve always wanted
to do or want to do before you die.
That year, I decided to become a certified scuba diver. I had done a couple of dives in Key West, Florida so knew I’d like it. I enrolled in a course, did all the classroom work, spent the required time trying everything out in the water, and then, on the third day, drove to the beach again where I would do the certification test in the water. I was nervous.
A verse flowed to the surface of my mind. It moved the fear aside, as I suited up and began to walk into the water. In the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verse 13 says, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” That verse gave me the confidence to complete the requirement for scuba certification. Even at forty feet, when the instructor left me to find a couple of other students, I was able to remain calm as I concentrated on that verse.
Now, I really don’t believe that God meant for us to rely on those words to accomplish personal goals as much as to accomplish the things He asks us to do for His honor and glory. There are times when God asks us to step out of our comfort zone into a situation that makes us feel uncomfortable. During those times, He promises to give us the strength to obey and accomplish what He has asked us to do.
Sometimes, placing ourselves in a situation where we can pray for another human being makes us feel uncomfortable. We’re not used to praying out loud or in front of someone else, but there’s this person looking you in the eye, expecting. God will give you the strength for that situation.
Rely, not on your own strength, but on the strength that God has for you, seeking His words, and His compassion for that person. Be confident that God already knows the problem and He will use you to touch the life of another human being … if you rely on Him and Him alone. You may still be nervous inside but you will accomplish whatever is set before you with Him.
Barbara Ann Derksen has written five devotionals to date and is working on the sixth. Her books are read all across the US and Canada with a few, so far, sold in Europe.
Coming Soon – More Than Bells, Devotions on Prayer
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