Freedom and Confidence

I'm just going to settle a bit on one verse in Chapter 3 today, and then on Monday, we'll get to some kickin' amazing passages in the rest of Chapter 3. Go ahead, you can read them early. S'all good.

Here is it....

Verse 12

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

I'm sure you know Paul is talking about Christ. *wink*

I know that there have been many times that I didn't approach God with either freedom nor confidence. I could have been wrapped up in a sin and figured He wasn't all that happy to see me. Or, I let good ol' insecurity keep me from feeling confident. Those two words, freedom and confidence, haven't always been easy for me when it came to God.

The problem was that I was trying to approach God based on my own fragile, broken, and sinful abilities. You know, trying to rely on my charm, good looks, and all the ways I "served" Him. It just doesn't work that way. It's the first part of the sentence that bring us the freedom and confidence.

In HIM and through FAITH.

It's in Jesus that we are ever free to go to God with any kind of confidence. I'll never be perfect enough to be confident before God. it's only through the fact that Christ's Spirit dwells in me that I have a shred of guts to even say, "Um, Lord?" It's because He loved me first. He called me first. He chose me first.

In that confidence and freedom we are met face to face with the same God who told Abraham to leave everything. The same God that talked to Moses in a flame-ified bush. The same God who shut the mouths of the lions and walked around the fire with those boys in Babylon.

This is something we are not to take lightly, but still can have the freedom to be who we are. It's such an overwhelming paradox...but it's truth. It's real. And it's been made available to us.

Do you feel that you have the freedom and confidence to approach God?