You ARE, because He IS

Do you ever find yourself in situations where you want to step out for God, but rather than doing what you know He is calling you to do you find every reason why you are not qualified to do so? For example, I might be out grocery shopping and see someone who has a physical ailment and feel like I should pray for them to be healed. However, rather than asking that person if I can pray for them I find myself saying things like "I just don't have the gift of healing," or "I don't know how to pray with enough faith," or "I am just too afraid to deal with rejection."Perhaps you often find yourself getting impatient and displaying very little grace with friends and loved ones. Maybe you know God is encouraging you to be more loving and understanding. However, you say things to Him like, "I am just not there yet. I have too many emotional scars. I will be more loving and compassionate next time when I have worked through those."A lot of men and women in the Bible used by God to do amazing things initially responded with all the reasons they couldn't do it. For example, Moses, who God used to part the Red Sea and lead the Israelites out of Egypt, originally responded to his calling by explaining to God that he was not qualified (Exodus 3: 11), not reputable  (Exodus 4:1), not capable (Exodus 4:10), and not willing (Exodus 4:13). But with every single excuse Moses tried to throw at God, God responded with an "I am" or an "I will".Hebrews 10:10 says, "For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time."2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"The work that Christ did through His death and resurrection was a finished work. It was His finished work, not ours. If we simply receive it for what it is, we will undoubtedly walk it out with boldness and courage. If we think we have to walk it out in order to receive it, then we will grow tired and weary and our courage will fade away. In other words, we are not bold for Christ because we are so much stronger and have more faith than other Christians. We become bold when we accept the simple truth that the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives within us, because He was the most bold and courageous man that ever walked the face of the earth.This is so powerful if we can grasp it. Think about that place in your mind that you keep telling yourself you will ultimately reach. Think about the man or woman that someday you would like to become. What if I told you that you already are that man or woman? What if I told you that you already are that godly father or mother, that godly husband or wife, that godly friend, that bold and courageous follower of Christ? We simply cannot afford to stay in this mindset of, "I'll get there one day." That mindset will not motivate us to start walking in the life God has for us. That mindset will keep us stuck, lethargic, and ineffective. What if we started living from a place of, "I already am, because He is"?What if the next time the chance to be bold presents itself rather than saying, "I'll do it next time when I have built up my courage and boldness," we say, "God's word says that the courage and boldness of Christ already resides within me"? What if the next time we find ourselves in a fight with a friend or family member and the urge to say something hurtful rises up we say, "I have already been given everything I need for godliness," instead of saying, "I just haven't mastered how to control my emotions yet, so I'll be loving next time"?What if all day, every day, we learned to live from a place of "I am, because He is," rather than from the place of false truth that says, "I will be when I figure out how"? Christ already completed the work. He gave up everything on the cross and then rose from the dead so that you could be everything you were created to be, not so that one day you might work your way to that point. You already are, because He is!