DAILY READING
DEVOTION/REFLECTION
Dressed for Confidence
By Karen Burkhart
When it comes to asking girls out, young men today have it much easier than previous generations. The courage required to text an invitation to dinner pales in comparison to dialing a number, listening for the pick-up, searching for the right words in the moment, and standing by awkwardly for the response. There was just no way to avoid the exposure back then like there is today. Long before smart phones, a friend in college told me he had been so nervous to ask a girl out that he donned a suit jacket to increase his confidence and feelings of worthiness just to speak to her over the phone. I wonder what he would have worn if he had to approach the girl in person--a royal robe?!
When it comes to approaching God, many of us struggle with a similar lack of confidence. We know God is holy and perfect, and deep down we may fear rejection if we come as we really are. Like a nervous suitor, we may even try to mask our sins with our Sunday best, recounting our good works and noting how unlike other sinners we are. But God is not fooled or impressed. To him, our Sunday best is akin to filthy rags. If it weren't for Jesus, our lack of confidence would be perfectly suitable. After all, would anyone dare enter the presence of a King in filthy rags?
In
the days before Jesus came in the flesh, God's people, the Israelites, certainly did not dare. There was only one permitted to approach God directly, and that
was the High Priest. On the annual Day of Atonement, with God's special
permission, the High Priest lifted the veil in the Temple and entered the Most
Holy Place where the presence of God resided. There, he offered sacrifices for the sins
of the people. It got the job done, but it did not provide perfect cleansing or freedom from guilt, nor satisfy the longing in
people's hearts for real communion with God.
But
thanks be to God, He sent Jesus who gave us a new and better way! Jesus
became the High Priest and the sacrifice, giving his life once
and for all. The moment Jesus died on the cross the veil in the Temple, was
torn in two, top to bottom. Now, by way of the blood of Jesus, anyone, anytime, can freely approach God, and there is no need to dress up for it! That's because, when the Father sees
someone coming in filthy rags, he runs out to meet him or her and offers his
Son's robe of righteousness. That robe is the only confidence a child of God will ever need to approach the Heavenly Father from here to eternity.
Perhaps you've been waiting to approach God until you clean yourself up a bit first, or log a few more good works. My encouragement to you today is to not delay--just start heading in his direction. Or, perhaps you've been wearing Christ's robe of righteousness for a while, but it has started to slip off your shoulders as you begin again trusting in your own goodness for access into the Lord's presence. My encouragement to you today, is to stop and reaffirm that it's only the work and righteousness of Jesus that matters, then boldly and confidently return to your Father.
Father, it's unfathomable that someone like me could dare approach you with boldness and confidence, yet I accept that you made it possible by way of your son, Jesus. Today, I come to you, despite my own sinfulness and not relying on my own goodness. I'm eternally grateful that when you look at me, you no longer see my filth, only your Son's robe of righteousness. Thank you for this restored relationship that makes it possible for me to commune with you.
Listen to Clean by Natalie Grant
For additional reading:
Isaiah 64:6, Hebrews 9:12, Matthew 27:51, Luke 15:22, Isaiah 61:10, Galatians 5:1, Hebrews 10:19-22
PRAYER PRACTICE
Spoken Prayer
Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.
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