Break the Tape: I've Got this, God

Welcome, friends, for today's edition of Break the Tape.  Essentially, our goal is to identify the lies that repeat themselves over and over again in our minds, break the tape that automatically begins plays when ever we feel we've fallen short, and learn a new song to sing in its place.  

Meet Michelle.  There are many cool things to know about her, but one thing I LOVE is that she has a heart for middle school boys.  She's even written studies with her husband for them.  You can check them out here.  I could go on about her heart, but I want you to get on with reading her words...

photo source

MINE!

I GOT IT! I GOT IT! I GOT IT!

Words I yell to call people off a ball when playing sports.

They mean, "Back off! I'm taking this and I don't need your help."

Crucial in a game like volleyball or baseball

to avoid a collision or to make a play -

deadly in my spiritual walk.

I'm a Paul: A++ in the pedigree and training category (Philippians 3:2-11). The big difference between Paul and me is that I trusted Christ at the age of 4. By personality and background, I've been blessed with an "I got it" attitude. At times I do fear things, but most of the time I'm operating in a confident mode.

The only problem is
I sometimes subconsciously yell,"I got it! I got it!" in my daily routine.
 Maybe not in words, but definitely in actions.

It's not a willful rejection of God. It's getting comfortable in my routine, thinking of myself more highly than I should, ending up with me in the driver's seat wanting to direct, because I think - no, I know - I can.

•   I have a Master's Degree in education - so of course I know how to home school my kids.

•   I have a Bachelor's Degree in Bible - so of course I know the Bible and theology and doctrine too

•   I have memorized lots of scripture growing up - so of course I'm a walking Bible

•   I don't remember much about life before Jesus - so of course I'm really not that bad

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!

•   GOD has the wisdom I need for teaching my kids, not my education (although it helps)

•   GOD is my teacher, not my degree. He reveals the truth of His word - fresh and new when I read

•   GOD wants me to continually hide His word in my heart, not rest on my laurels

•   GOD says ALL have sinned and fall short of His glory. My righteousness (while it may look fantastic to me) is filthy garbage to Him

Throughout this "little" journey God has me on, I'm learning that each little moment of the day needs to be His. While it's true that I can do these things because I have lots of training, if I'm not doing them in concert with God, depending on His strength, nothing of eternal value is accomplished. Too often I get so caught up in being proactive and prepared that I push the Holy Spirit right out of the picture. I think my next journey is going to be balance - it's actually one Tim & I have been on for a very, very long time!

I need to be more like my oldest, who brought a friend to a big youth outreach event. During the invitation, Nathan said, "It wasn't me. I didn't have anything to do with it. I was just praying, 'OK God, here's where you do your thing'." He prayed, waited, and watched the Holy Spirit work in his friend's life to bring him into the Kingdom!

So now when I say, "I got it!"
those need to be words of understanding.
~Eureka!~ The lightbulb turned on!
Yes, I got it!
it's NOT mine. It's YOU, God!

Want to read more of Michelle?  Click here to travel to her blog, Leading God's Generation.