“They will be radiant because of the LORD’s good gifts – the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life will be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows will be gone.” Jeremiah 31:12
At work yesterday I had a man who tried to tell me that I hadn’t activated his PayPal card correctly at the register. And I have to tell you, six months ago, before working prayerfully through Beth Moore’s book So Long, Insecurity You’ve Been a Bad Friend to Us, I would have caved and shriveled like a raisin under his accusations. I would have agreed with him that I had done something wrong and I would have beat myself up about it for the rest of the day too. But no longer!
I think that may have just been my final exam for the Security class I’ve been taking! I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I HAD done it correctly. The Dollar General system is set up to be as foolproof as possible. If I HAD done it incorrectly it would have set off more alarms than a five alarm fire. I could have stood there and argued with him about it and made a big ole scene in front of the drawing crowd of people waiting behind him in line too. But I could plainly see that no matter how calmly I explained to him that there was no way I could have done it incorrectly; he wasn’t going to believe me. And like Jesus says, don’t throw pearls to pigs and don’t argue with a Pharisee! So I didn’t.
I took out my MANAGER’s key, calmly refunded his money and wished him a good day. The next lady in line is a regular customer of mine so she KNEW how hot I was. She said, ”Breathe girl” as she placed her purchases on the counter. I smiled. I love my customers. They’re good people. I thanked her and told her how glad I was that she had been immediately after him. She complimented me on my ability to stay calm in the face of that adversity and that I handled it with decorum and professionalism. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had survived the pressure. Satan had not won, I had. And as I stood there and counted out her change from my drawer I breathed my prayer of amazing gratitude to the Father for His Truth freeing me from the Shrinking Violet Syndrome I have suffered from all these years. That man’s doubts of my abilities to perform my duties can not take my security from me. Period. I refuse to allow someone’s misconceptions of my abilities to rob me of the peace that passes all understanding that Jesus died to give me. And even if I HAD processed his card incorrectly, even that can’t steal my security and peace. Not if I don’t let it anyway. I’ve come to realize that it’s all just a decision that we make BEFORE HAND and then again in the moment when it happens.
I’ve always loved Isaiah 7:9: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” I believe that it is critical for us to know what we believe and why and then take a stand according to those beliefs. That’s part of why I feel it’s so important that Christians READ THE BIBLE FOR THEMSELVES so that we can take that opportunity to form a belief system that is genuine and sincere because we’ve formed it through a genuine relationship with Christ. However, this verse has taken on a deeper meaning for me today in the hindsight of my security test. Not only do we need to stand firm in our beliefs of who Christ is in our lives, but we also need to stand firm in what we believe He says about US! I need to stand firm in my faith in myself just as much as I need to stand firm in my faith in God. Otherwise I will not stand at all.
God has given us the blood-bought gift of security in Him and when we stand firm in the belief of that security we too will be radiant!
Tamar Knochel 