God’s Too Good to Gatekeep
- Bailee Chavez
- Jan 21, 2024
- 4 min read
In today’s society, it is tempting to keep certain things, aka “gatekeep” them
We may be tempted to withhold sharing our flaws to protect our image or even keep secret our tips for success to reserve favor only for ourselves.
Is gatekeeping always bad? It depends on the context.
But I’m not here to argue whether or not you should let your guard down, share your beauty secrets, or send that quizlet you made to a friend to help them study.
Today I’m talking about the topic of gatekeeping God. If there’s one thing I know we shouldn’t keep to ourselves is our love for Jesus, our trust in Him, and His goodness.
For me personally, I know I’m flawed. I make mistakes. I don’t always have pure motives. I don’t always make the right decisions. I don’t always have my priorities aligned the way they should be.
Of course, those things are true for all of us.
And sometimes I find myself wallowing in shame over my imperfection. And, perhaps if I didn’t believe in Jesus, I would spend my life trying to prove to myself and to others that I do possess all those flaws. That would certainly keep me busy, right?
True, but I believe there’s a more worthwhile pursuit.
Instead of spending my time trying to disprove all that is already true and gatekeeping the fact that I serve a God who is bigger than my shortcomings, I can spend my life pointing others to Him instead of myself.
I don't want others to look to me. I want them to look to Him.
Gatekeeping God = elevating myself
Letting His light shine before others = allowing others see how His grace is sufficient for me
This week I listened to a devotional that is too good to gatekeep!!
----------
To think today, when your life doesn't work as planned that it's out of control is to forget that Jesus reigns for your sake and for His glory.
What are you facing today that you wouldn't be facing if you were in control?
What are you required to deal with that you really wish you could avoid?
Where have your plans drift like sand through your fingers?
Where would you like to take back choices and redo decisions?
Where do you tend to look over the fence and wish you had someone else’s life?
Where do you feel troubled, inadequate, weak, defeated, overwhelmed, alienated, or alone?
Where do thoughts of the past tend to flood you with regret or visions of the future make you a bit afraid?
What causes you to wish life was easier or atleast a bit more predictable?
If you could change a couple of things in your life right now, what would they be?
Where does it feel to you as if you are on an amusement park ride that you never intended to be on?
If you’re not in one of those moments I described above, you will be one day. And you are near to someone who is.
Life in this fallen world is often very hard. This world and everything in it are not functioning the way God intended. The brokenness of this fallen world will enter your door and somehow alter the trajectory of your life.
In those moments, it is tempting to conclude that life is all about surviving the chaos. You feel that you don’t have much power. You’ve been confronted with the fact that there is not much that you can control. And you have no idea of what might be lurking around the corner. It all seems impossible and scary.
But this is not where God’s Word leads us. Yes. it does confront us with our smallness, weakness, and lack of control. But it doesn't leave us there.
The Bible declares something to us that is the opposite of the way we tend to think. It tells us that the difficulties we face every day- the seeming chaos that regularly greets us is not the result of the world being out of control, but the result of the reign of the One who is in control.
Paul says in Ephesisans 1:22 "God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church."
So no matter how it looks to you at street level, your world is not out of control. No it’s under careful rule.
As radical as that thought is, it’s not radical enough because it does not do justice to all that Paul says. Paul wants you to know something else.
That rule has you in view. Right now, Jesus rules over all things for the sake of His children.
This is where peace is to be found.
From: New Morning Mercies Devotional, as Read in the Mornings with the Masters Podcast.
He is the only place I will ever experience the freedom from the doing, the striving, the anxiety, the insecruity, etc. If you are feeling the weight of the world today, I promise it won’t be lifted by calling your mom or your bff. Joy wont be discovered in the endorphins of a workout. The solution to the yearning of your soul is Jesus reminding you of who He is and what He thinks about you. Sit with Him today. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes. I promise it will help more than anything the world has to offer you.
~ Nicolletta Bradley
@nicolettabradley on Instagram
Jesus is literally the best thing in my life. As I come face to face with what used to derail me, His sweet whispers to my soul keep me from being swept away so quickly.
God's character is as good as gold, and it shouldn't be gatekeeped. Remember this truth this week!!
Love,
Bailee Chavez
Commentaires