How long have you been standing?

TODAY:
Today's chapel was great. The guy who led it asked a question that really stuck with me today, "How long have you been standing?" Too often we lean on our own understanding and before we know it we're caring the weight of our world. It seems to me the longer we walk in this manner, the more weary and heavy-burdened we become. We lose sight of the One who asks us to give Him our load. He WANTS to carry it because He LOVES us that much. We often attempt to carry our loads until we're so fatigued that we buckle underneath the weight and fall to our knees. Perhaps it's in that time on our knees when we remember how things should be and we're faced with the decision to surrender. When we humble ourselves and get on our knees things come into perspective. God picks us up and restores us; He lifts the weight and puts it on Himself.

I don't know about you, but I've been standing for way to long.

LAST NIGHT:
Last night I was talking a friend about testimonies. We shared stories of people in our lives with amazing testimonies and how God is using them to make such an impact. After a while our own fears about sharing our own testimonies surfaced. I think there are many times that I rationalize that my testimony is nothing great. I've caught myself thinking, "My testimony would be so much better if I would have done a bunch of really terrible things and then came to know the Lord." That's crazy thinking (which by the way, is also wrong).

The truth of the matter is that we've all sinned and done terrible things. I've also allowed myself to think, "I'm not sharing "that" part of my testimony" because I've been afraid of what others will think. Then again I'm hit with the truth, those things are in the past and my life now should be a testament of how God has saved and changed me. Bottom line, we all have amazing testimonies. We're all sinners who have been saved by grace. We can never earn or deserve it. We can't make God love us more or less. The fact that with all the junk I've had in my life and all the times I've screwed up, Jesus died for me. That's insanely awesome.