favor

Psalm 44:3b ...it was not their own strength that gave them the victory.
It was by Your mighty power that they succeeded;
It was because you favored them & smiled on them.

How long have I been in ministry? Well, never mind... long enough to know better ;-)

How many years did I spend doing life & ministry in my own strength? I guess I had a "God helps those who help themselves" kind of attitude. Or maybe I just didn't think He'd come through?

In the last ten years I've moved more & more toward an attitude of that if this is what God wants me to be & do, then He's gonna have to provide the strength to do it.

And I think I'm learning more & more in very graphic ways that whatever good happens around me or through me is simply because He chooses to have it happen. Iow, I'm completely dependent on His favor, or His smile, in & on what I am & what I'm doing.

That does release me from having to be the one who keeps everything going.

It also means I have to be surrendered to whatever His will may entail.

It also means that my life has to be lined up with His. I have to "seek first the Kingdom of God & His righteousness" so that "all these things" can be "added" (Matthew 6:33)

I guess what it all boils down to is I only have to please one person - God.

hmmmmmmmmm...