I've been reading John Eldredge's book, Walking With God. In one of the sections, he challenges the reader to ask God 2 questions-
Lord, how do I think I am doing?
Lord, how do you think I am doing?
So often, his point was, how we see ourselves is vastly different than the way God sees us, and wants us to see ourselves.
Anyway, I asked God those 2 questions, and kept getting distracted every morning, so I kept returning to those questions for several days. When you ask God a question, He will answer, in His time, in His way. Stay with Him.
Last Friday I went for a motorcycle ride (as I often do), and God spoke to me while riding (as He often does). John had written the phrase that came to describe his answer to the 1st question was, "Just barely", and that's how I've felt. Just barely doing well, as a husband, a father, a friend, a minister, a child of God's. So easily distracted, so easily tripped up. "Just barely" fit how I saw myself.
Riding some back road outside Rutledge, Ga., God spoke to my heart, "You are mine, and you are loved." He continued- "That was the wrong question for you. Its not about doing, its about being. Its not about performance, its about position. You are mine, and you are loved." Simple truth, I've known these for years, but it was so good hearing from my Father personally on this. My position is secure, as His beloved son. The "being" is just that- Being in His hands, in His presence, in His plan. The doing grows out of the being.
That night, I found myself in Jeremiah 31:3- "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness."
Rob