Both/And

When you’re miles down a trail, you have to look behind you to see how far you’ve come and what you have accomplished.

Your career is like that. You can look back with thanks for all the good things God has done for you and accomplished through you as you serve people with excellence.

It’s easy to stray from the path. Every day, we must pray:

“Make your ways known to me, O Lord, and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me because you are God, my savior.
I wait all day long for you.” – Psalm 25:4-5 GW

“As for me, since I am poor and needy, let the Lord keep me in his thoughts.
You are my helper and my savior. O my God, do not delay.” – Psalm 40:17 NLT

We live in constant tension:

• We know we’re “poor and needy,” as the Psalmist proclaims at the end of Psalm 40.
• God commands us to be strong and courageous as he told Joshua multiple times in Deuteronomy 31.

Which should it be?

Not either/or.

We’re both/and.

We can be both poor and needy and strong and courageous in Christ when we depend on Him.

Ask yourself:

What good things does God do for me for which I can give thanks daily?

For reflection:

Father, ambiguity, and uncertainty fill me with worry, anxiety, and tension. I commit to walking the path of my life with humility and courage in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, keep me in your thoughts today. I want to be reliant on you. Amen!