The Right Stuff
Do you ever wonder whether you’ve got ‘the right stuff’?
The Apollo astronauts had it … your favorite sports team has it (sometimes) … political candidates work very hard to convince voters that they might have it.
We want our children to believe that they have what’s needed to meet big challenges. We hug them and we pray with them … then we wonder whether we have given them the right stuff. When we anticipate the challenges of our day, questions come to our minds: Can we get the job done? Am I making a difference in this world?
As followers of Christ, we often ask tough questions: How closely am I living to the will of God? Am I able to overcome Satan, to be Light and Salt to those around me? When I have a chance to share my faith with an unbeliever, will I have the right stuff? When non-believers look at us, do they think that we are able? Are they convinced that living for God is their best hope for a better life?
In 2 Corinthians 2:8-9, Paul described his current situation: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that life could be challenging, but he remained confident. In John 12:27, Jesus said, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” At that moment, on a level that you and I can understand, did Jesus wonder whether He had the right stuff?
The Apostle Paul and Jesus the Son of God certainly had the right stuff, and we must develop that same confidence. The irony is that such confidence cannot be in ourselves (by ourselves, we do not have the right stuff). When our confidence is in God, we have everything that we need! 2 Cor 2:7 “… we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” John 8:14 “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.”
We serve an awesome God, and He has big plans for us; let’s look for opportunities to serve, and then let us find the confidence (in God) so that we can glorify Him.