Authentic Faith – God can be trusted to do all He has promised to do!

Read: Psalm 71:5 “For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.�

Thought/Insight: Strange driver

Recently we made some updates to our home computer. We stepped into this century with our internet access and leaped from dial-up to high speed. WOW…what a difference. I think the first night I watched 43 movie trailers, bought and downloaded two cd’s, and listened to five podcasts. I probably went to bed around 2am. In the midst of the switch I somehow screwed up our e-mail software. Since I now have “high speed�, I jumped on-line and headed to the “live-chat help center�. After waiting less than a minute, I was typing back and forth with some tech dude in Texas and he was giving me insight on how to fix my e-mail “POP3 Server something –or-other�. Blah, blah, blah….he lost me at POP3. He could tell from my slow and ignorant typing that I was lost, so he sent me a message telling me that with a few clicks of the mouse I could surrender control of my PC to him via the web, and that he could fix the problem right from his desktop. All I had to do was click on a few links and “let him drive.�

I surrendered and let the man drive. My cursor started to move and I realized that he had taken control of my machine. I actually sat in front of my computer and laughed out loud. He was opening and checking stuff that I didn’t even know was there….from over 1,200 miles away. He was changing settings, double checking virus controls, and securing my e-mail future. He even went back and changed a few things I had screwed up in the process of trying to fix things. He then clicked on the help window and typed. “All finished…thanks for letting me drive. Let me know if I we can ever be of assistance again.�

Switch gears for a minute with me: Within the borders of my computer, I have: tax information, social security numbers, credit card numbers, personal e-mail, family photo’s, links to corny websites, and countless other pieces of really important information that I’m sure if I ever really needed, I could find. That’s not the crazy part though. What is crazy to me is that I let some strange guy from Texas who I don’t know have access to my life. He was driving and could go anywhere. Here is what it really gets nuts. I’m not sure I have given God that much control. There are days that I wonder if I have clicked on the link that “lets Him drive my life?�

Read: (NLT) 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 “I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us.�

Paul talks about almost being “down and almost out�, but still trusting in God.

- Evaluate your own spiritual life right now. What is your “soul status�. Are you damaged, hurt, feeling good, feeling bad?
- Have you let someone else influence your life to the point that you could say that they are “driving� your life? Is someone else besides God currently driving?
- Can you say like Paul, “we are confident that He will continue to deliver us?� Why or why not?
- What is stopping you from surrendering complete control to Him?
- Who do you know that you could talk to about surrendering complete control to God

Authentic Faith is an issue of completely surrendering control. Some call that Lordship.

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6
- How much of our heart are we supposed to give to him?
- How much are you currently investing?
- What do you want to do about it?

Reflection: Someone will “drive� your life. It’s going to be you, God, or someone else who you let influence you. God is the only one who is the expert on how to drive and where to go. Let Him have control.

Pray: Jesus, forgive me for not giving you complete control of my life. Today, I surrender control to you. Lead me. I put my trust and confidence in you!