Climbing to Victory

I have often felt through the years like I was wobbling on a sick teeter-totter with pride on one side and insecurity on the other.  It's not a pleasant place to be.  When I was praying with a friend the other day, God helped me see that pride and insecurity are not opposites of each other like I had been thinking, so trying to find a middle spot between them is never going to end well.  Instead God started giving me a picture that has been really helpful.  

Instead of an unstable teeter-totter, imagine a strong three legged ladder.  We had one of these at our old house...  inherited (I believe) from Lowell's grandpa.  These ladders are the best for picking fruit because they are so stable.  You don't need level ground and you don't end up wobbling back and forth like on a traditional ladder.  Anyway...  at the bottom of the left leg is PRIDE, while the the left leg itself represents pride's true opposite: HUMILITY.  At the bottom of the right leg is INSECURITY, while the right leg represents CONFIDENCE IN GOD.  At the bottom of the back leg is SELF-RELIANCE while that leg itself represents DEPENDENCE ON GOD.  Does that make sense?

So instead of wallowing between pride and insecurity (which are both rooted in self-reliance) and staying stuck on the ground, I can climb to VICTORY IN CHRIST through humility & confidence in God - rooted in total dependence on Him.  I like picturing the three legs not being based on pride, insecurity & self-reliance, but staking a claim of victory on them instead.  Declaring that I'm NOT giving into them but am going to humbly & confidently rely on God.

Humility triumphs over pride.

Confidence in God triumphs over insecurity.

Dependence on God triumphs over self-reliance.

Hallelujah!

"Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.  Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.  He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."  2 Corinthians 3:4-6

Just like climbing a real ladder, climbing this ladder takes FAITH.  But the fruit of VICTORY is at the top, and it's totally worth the climb.  : )

Day 24