Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, NKJV)
Love believes all things. To believe is to think to be true or to be persuaded of. It can also mean to place confidence in or to entrust something to somebody. When you love people, you believe in them; you have confidence in them, and you trust them with things.
God believes in me. He entrusts me with things to do and has confidence that I can do them. Look at what Paul says in Ephesians:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)
When I stop and reflect on this, my wonder just keeps growing. God believes in me so much that He took the time to prepare good works for me to do before I even knew Him. He created me in Christ Jesus for this work. That means He will give me with the ability to do what He asks.
This is incredibly encouraging and slightly terrifying. I know my failings and don’t want to let my Father down.
I think there are times when God has more confidence in me than I do in myself. He has several times asked me to do things that I don’t feel qualified or ready for. The first time He told me to share my Jesus story with a large group comes to mind. I felt so inadequate; I didn’t think I had an amazing, exciting story to tell and I got an upset stomach whenever I thought about public speaking. But God gave me the words and calmed my nerves. Now I never get a nervous tummy when I’m speaking about my Jesus and our loving Father. He has given me all I need to do this work for Him.
When I don’t have the confidence in myself, He will provide that also, if I remember to ask Him. He will give me everything I need becau
se He loves me and believes in me.
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead,
that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is
well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom [be] glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21 NKJV)
Think About:
What has God entrusted to you?
How do you respond to the thought of God having confidence in you?
P.S. Why a turtle? Well, He's cute for one thing. But I also like that there's a little hole even though the puzzle is completed. Even if I have holes, places that aren't what I want them to be, God says that I am complete in Jesus.
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