Confidence in the Spirit

After Moses spoke with God on the mountain (in Exodus 34) his face was radiant. It shone. He reflected God's glory. But Paul revealed later (In 2 Cor. 3) that it was a fading glory - so much so that Moses wore a veil over his face to keep his people from seeing the glory fade. Then Paul contrasts that to the unfading glory made possible through the Spirit's transforming work.

It is this ongoing transformation in us that reveals an increasing measure of God's glory. It is the Spirit of God within us that is transforming us into His image. The result of the Spirit for Paul was a confidence and freedom and a boldness and perseverance in making God known to the world. I have to confess, I don't always live that way. I can buckle under the weight of self-doubt. I find myself shackled by convention and rules on occasion. And I'm pretty sure bold is not a word most people would use to describe me.

Maybe you don't feel so bold either. Maybe you need to redirect your confidence to Someone more deserving than yourself (who ironically IS INSIDE YOU if you are in Him). Maybe you need to recall the hope to which we are called and respond with a confident offering of that same hope to those without it.

"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." Rely on that power. Trust the Spirit living in you. Let Him continue to transform you in order to show Himself to the people around you. There is work to be done that requires more than we have to give on our own. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."