Trust My Guts
"There is no one who understands. No one seeks after God." --Romans 3:11
I've been updating my bio and resume. Ever had to do that? It's not easy, especially the older you get. I ponder, Where to start? and What to highlight? As I sigh, the blinking cursor on my screen seems to be in perfect cadence with the sound of a thunderous, slow drum. Bong! Bong! Bong! I do my best to summarize my work. I try my hardest to sum up the years. But my first draft misses the mark as badly as I missed the trash can with it.
We are not our resume, are we? I kinda want to just write, I'm saved by grace, I married up, wrote some books. And oh, trust me when I tell you I have heart. Recently, our friend Allison Earnst sent me a plaque that simply says, "God Give Me Guts." And He did. He does. He will. That's what I'd like to tell prospective opportunities. Trust my guts. My strengths are best illustrated by my weaknesses, not awards. Call me sentimental -- granted I type this in tears -- but having spent the last five-plus years making sure nothing we say at PrayFit ever sounds boastful, selling myself along with the specialness of PrayFit just seems off for me.
Friends, getting through trials doesn't reveal our strength. (No, the trials do a pretty good job of that.) Getting through trials reveals God's grace and produces our character. That's why for my latest job description I'd be more comfortable simply writing I got up. Indeed, God allowed me to get up to keep fighting the good fight. But as I rise and wipe the dust off my back, I can't pat.
Well, enough of that, I guess. I finished it. Hopefully the page reads like I wrote it. But friends, it's not that I don't give myself a little credit for the good stuff, it's that I can't give myself any. The good in me and you? God. All the rest? Me and you.
–Jimmy Peña
For Discussion: Yesterday we talked about goals. We loved the responses and the swing-for-the-fence objectives. And much like my lofty aspirations, achieving yours or accomplishing each perfectly doesn't determine the worth of each. It's in the heart behind them and the goal before them. Like Theodore Roosevelt once said, "The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena. Who strive valiantly. Who know the great enthusiasms. The great devotions. And who spend themselves for a worthy cause. Who, if they succeed, know the triumph of high achievement. And who -- if they fail -- fail while daring greatly. So that their place will never be, with those cold and timid souls, who knew neither victory or defeat." I suspect there are no cold and timid souls reading this page today, amen? God gets the credit.
BRINGING PRAYFIT'S MESSAGE TO YOUR CHURCH OR COMMUNITY
Health as a means of praise. This fundamental message, which is sorely overlooked in this growing industry, is one that is affecting congregations and communities across the country. And yours could be next. Write us today at [email protected] to find out how you can bring PrayFit founder Jimmy Peña to your next event or Sunday service. Click (and share) the video below for a preview of this powerful, transformative message!
