Learning to Be Christ-Sufficient
Written by Philip Codington on August 28th, 2008I was thinking a lot today about what the next couple years of my life will look like. I’m not going to lie, it’s a little daunting thinking about the future… especially as I’m nearing the end of my college education (well, I’m a junior.. but college goes by fast). I’m starting to think about job internships and career options, and it’s scary to think about. My goal is to graduate from Covenant with a Business degree and then earn my CPA certificate. But there are so many steps and bridges to cross in between. I’m not sure if I want to just get a job when I get out and study for the CPA exam while also working… or if I want to go to grad school and get my masters in accountancy and then get my CPA certificate? What if I don’t pass the CPA exam (which a lot of people don’t)? What then? What about the whole money and finances issue? Where is the money going to come from to pay off loans, car, and my house/apartment when I get out? Where is God going to take me when I graduate? Should I go work in Wyoming for a year or two after I graduate? My thought process continues…
It’s been a pretty scary start to the semester too. I’m taking the fullest load I’ve taken yet while being at Covenant… and they’re hard classes. Will I be able to keep up with the work load? Will I be able to keep up my grades with the classes I’m taking? Another thing that’s been running through my mind…
I read the entry in Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest for today.. it comforted me and made a lot of sense, especially in light of all these questions (and more) that have been running through my mind.
Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer… “Ask, and you will receive . . .” ( John 16:24 )… Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems— the very things that have brought you to your wits’ end.
God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature.
I’m slowly learning that God is bigger than my fears and uncertainties in life… than my mistakes… than my failures… than my inability to truly be Christ-sufficient. Don’t forget to pray. God is SO much bigger than all of our problems… and He cares.
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“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” -Proverbs 19:21
Chambers hit the nail on the head. Whether or not you pass the CPA, whether or not you work in Wyoming , whether or not you live to see another day… don’t forget who you belong to, Phil. Your father in Heaven knows your worry, and He is so faithful to you.