September 23, 2020 (Wednesday)
Yesterday’s blog was about a psychological syndrome in which people are afraid of being found out as frauds. They cannot be convinced that they are great achievers, and seem bound to the belief that they don’t deserve the praise.
I never had that syndrome, but years ago I went through a period of life when I wondered how I ever got to be where I was with a job that brought great responsibilities. The manifestation of that thinking was in my dreams. I had recurrent dreams of piloting airplanes, some of them giant airliners. The kick in the dream was the realization that I did not know how to fly. Even so, fly I did, and successfully. I took off, cruised and landed giant passenger planes. All in my dreams, in which I knew that I did not know how to fly.
Since I kept dreaming that way, I asked myself why. The only conclusion that I could come up with was my feeling as pastor that I was in over my head. I was not a fraud. I was doing the job, and doing it pretty well, I think, but had no idea how. I felt unprepared and out of my depth. In time I got over it, and the dreams ceased. I suppose I finally realized that I was born to serve the Lord. When God calls people into his service, He equips them to do the work.
When I think back over those days, a Scripture verse comes to mind: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Alesha Cadet, journalist, said of this verse, ““God wants us to spread his message. People don’t know how powerful this scripture is. A lot of people in the world stay doubting themselves and believing that they are not capable of certain things, but the sky is definitely the limit. And the truth is, you can do anything through Christ that strengthens you.”
BORN TO SERVE THE LORD
Bill and Gloria Gaither
Date?
From the dust of the earth
my God created man-
His breath made man a living soul;
And God so loved the world
He gave His only Son,
and that is why I love Him so!
I was made in His likeness,
created in his image,
for I was born to serve the Lord.
And I cannot deny Him,
I will always walk beside Him,
for I was born to the serve the Lord.
My hands were made
to help my neighbor,
my eyes were made
to read God’s word.
My feet were made
to walk in His footsteps,
my body is the temple of the Lord.
I was made in His likeness,
created in his image,
for I was born to serve the Lord.
And I cannot deny Him,
I will always walk beside Him,
for I was born to the serve the Lord.