[Steve Myers] Do you feel powerful in your faith? The Apostle Paul dealt with this a little bit in 1 Corinthians probably because in Corinth there were times that, you know, people thought they could do everything, and then there were others that felt well, maybe my faith is lacking. So Paul gave a little bit of a perspective in 1 Corinthians 1:18. Notice he said this, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

So as God begins to open our minds to His truth and His love and His way and His plan, Paul says there's a power in that, that we can have the power to have a changed life, a changed perspective, a different viewpoint that's a spiritual viewpoint. Now as you read that and sometimes I think as we consider our faith we have a tendency to think that we've got to work this up, and we've got to be powerful. And oftentimes it leaves us feeling like, boy am I lacking. I don't feel powerful. Actually I feel pretty weak overall. Yet, we have misplaced faith I think when it comes to that, and Paul dealt with that just a little bit later in chapter 2. Here's what he says down in verse 5, he says that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:5).

Now you see that changes everything doesn't it? That my trust, my faith, my confidence, the assurance that I have isn't something I have to work up and somehow be this powerful person. Yes, I'm working and I'm striving for that, but you know he says it's in the power of God.

So when I feel like I'm not very powerful, when I'm feeling like I don't measure up, when I'm feeling  a lack of confidence, maybe a lack of trust, here's a good time to step back and realize my faith should be in the power of God. So, if you feel that way, what can we do?

Well, I can read a story in the Bible about God's power. What has God done? What has He done for others? Boy, the Bible is filled with stories of individuals where God did miraculous things, amazing things, phenomenal things for people, and He did it in tremendous ways. We can read those stories. Now is that something then we can step back and say, wow, I can have a strength of character, a strength of confidence because God does what He says He's going to do. God promised us in that message that Paul talked about in chapter 1. He promised in that message that He's never going to leave us. He's never going to forsake us. He promised He'll always be with us. Can I have trust in that? Can I have faith in that? Can I feel powerful in the fact that God will do what He says He will do? Absolutely we can.

And so next time you're feeling maybe just a lack of confidence, lack of power, remember 1 Corinthians. Put your power and your faith in God.

That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.