Put away the measuring stick!

Reimar Schultze said, “The more conscientious we are, the more we…go to bed with some sense that we missed the elusive 100 percent again…Many precious saints fall for this trap…robbing themselves of the joy of the Lord and the peace…that passes all understanding…We all are familiar with the testimonies of some of the greatest men of God. Many of them, like us…found themselves in the gutters of self-incrimination.” Moses felt completely unworthy and unable to free Israel from Egypt. Yet how often has God called you to do something and you said the same thing: “Who am I, that I should go?” (Exodus 3:11). Do you think you know more than the One who called you? David told us throughout the Psalms that God is omnipotent and omnipresent; that He never takes his eyes off us. Then David contradicted himself by declaring, “I am a worm and not a man” (Psalm 22:6 NIV), and “I am forgotten as though I were dead” (Psalm 31:12 NIV). Elijah was so depressed that he cried, “Enough…Lord, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4). Job cursed the day he was born, yet the Bible calls him a “blameless and upright” man who reverenced God (Job 1:1 NIV). Pastor Schultze continued: “Measuring our worth to God by our performance will continue to threaten us until the end of time…I absolutely refuse to go to bed going through some kind of checklist on how I did…I would rather ask myself the question Jesus asked Peter: do you love Me with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Again, that is the only test I want to give myself at the end of the day.” It’s the one that counts most!