It’s OK to say Thank You!!!

Psalm 139:13-14 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well."

 

I received a compliment today and rather than saying thank you, I felt embarrassed and afraid to feel proud of something I did. There was a little voice in me that said if I take credit for it and felt good about it, then it would make me a proud and arrogant person and God hates arrogance and pride. But then, I realized that the last thing the enemy wants is a confidant Christian woman.

There is a difference between confidence and arrogance and having a feeling of pride about something you have done does not mean you are an ego maniac. Humility is good. We are nothing without God and it is only because of him, that I am able to sit down and write the words I am writing today. When someone says "Good job" it's ok for me to say "Thank you". It made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I have a gift. What a concept. But, it's not something that I asked for. In fact, it appears to be something I always said I couldn't do or even wanted to do...Me, write? I don't even have the discipline to sit still long enough to make it through an entire tv program....but that's what makes these God things. Our gifts are just that, a gift from God.

 Ephesians 4 says

"7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:  "When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people."

We have all been given gifts. Romans 12 says "6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us."  And 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 says "4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work."

 I have realized that I have been afraid to use the gift I have been given because of lack of confidence in my abilities. However, I am not the one controlling them, as we can see from 1 Corinthians 12, it is the Holy Spirit that is working in us and through us with these gifts. I should not fear failure. There is no failure in God's word. I should write boldly, speak boldly and live boldly for God. "You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, GOD is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again. But I'm in the very presence of GOD—oh, how refreshing it is! I've made Lord GOD my home. GOD, I'm telling the world what you do!" ~Psalm 73:25-28 (The Message)

 Thank you dear friend, for the wake up call I needed. Lord, thank you for placing women like Shawn Boreta in my life who help me get back on the path and remind me to be the person you created me to be and not the person I think I should be.

 What is the gift you have been given that you are have been afraid to use or just lack the confidence to use??