a confident approach
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16
Confidence:
1) a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities
2) a firm trust that one can count on someone or something
My child,
Jesus was tempted. You definitely will be. The difference is this: He never yielded to temptation. You have and will.
The good news is that Christ knows all about temptation and triumph. If you cry out to him for his power, he will give it to you so that you might resist doing the sinful things you do not have the power to resist without him.
Remember he empathizes with your weaknesses. He fully understands them because he has experienced them.
I have not restricted those who may approach me based on an individual’s success with sin management. I do not say, “Some of you good ones may approach.” I encourage all who have received the gift of Christ’s righteousness to come confidently into my presence.
You don’t have to polish your soul before coming. Christ’s sacrifice gave you a permanent backstage pass with more privileges than you can imagine. Unfettered access to my throne room has been guaranteed by me, for all time. Whether you feel exceedingly sure-footed or utterly clumsy in your approach, remember, even the most graceful version of yourself is not the source of your confidence. I am.
My throne is a throne of grace - a glorious place where unearned kindness abounds. Rest in the certainty of that truth. When you depend fully on my grace for your access, you will be assured you can approach me without fear. I cannot mislead you. Deceit is not possible for me.
The path to my presence is not a slippery slope. Come and find joy in my embrace.
I love you,
Abba
My Abba,
I have to trust you to make me right. Pulling myself out of the quicksand of my sin usually results in a lot of flailing and frustration. I am astounded that Christ was willing to humble himself to the point of experiencing human frailty, temptation, suffering and death. That was not some kind of necessary exercise for your benefit. I know it was all fueled out of your love for us. Thank you for your matchless commitment to our well-being.
Through Christ’s life, you have demonstrated you make every resource available for us to walk through temptation victoriously. How astounding that you live in me, offer that power to me, and still, I sometimes refuse to take it. Please pour out your power in the weakest parts of my life today and give me the willingness to receive from you.
The definitions of confidence are so telling. One describes a dependence on self, the other a dependence on you. I desire to faithfully depend on you to empower me. I know you have promised me your Holy Spirit lives in me and will give me what I need to resist temptation. But will I choose to ask and receive what I, so obviously, need?
In reality, I vacillate between these two forms of confidence much of the time. When I falsely assume that “I have got this,” I have that self-assurance arising from an appreciation of my own abilities. The aftermath of that is never pretty.
Other times I realize rightly that I am powerless apart from you to resist temptation. I have that firm trust that I can, and need, to count on you. I cling to you because I know you are my only hope.
Give me the grace today to choose rightly. I want to put my confidence in you, the Creator of the Universe, not in me, your created one.
I love you,
Mollie
photo credit: e.pimenov