God Glorifying Equipping Ministries Prayer

“Regarding other people, our problem is that we need them (for ourselves) more than we love them for the glory of God.  The task God sets for us is to need them less and love them more." (p.19).

Today's prayer focus is that equipped members will glorify God at home, at work, in church and everywhere.

Pray that you and other members of WCBC will trust in the Lord and not fear man.  

Proverbs 29:25 says “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” 

All too often, a fear of man motivates our actions.
We avoid that person in the hall at school or work.
We don't say what needs to be said or we say what shouldn't be said.
We procrastinate because we are frozen with fear.
We struggle with doing things because seeking the approval of man is our biggest motivator.  

In order to fear God, not man, here are the seven steps Welch gives:

1. Recognize that the fear of man is a major theme both in the Bible and in your own life.
2. Identify where your fear of man has been intensified by people in your past.
3. Identify where your fear of man has been intensified by the assumptions of the world.
4. Understand and grow in the fear of the Lord. The person who fears God will fear nothing else.
5. Examine where your desires have been too big. When we fear people, people are big, our desires are even bigger, and God is small.
6. Rejoice that God has covered your shame, protected you from danger, and accepted you. He has filled you with love.
7. Need other people less, love other people more. Out of obedience to Christ, and as a response to his love toward you, pursue others in love.

You can prayerfully work through these steps

Here are a couple of quotes from the book to help clarify step 1.

"From Genesis on, nakedness, or the shame of being exposed to others, became one of the great curses in Hebrew culture.  It was a profound curse because it symbolized the deeper, spiritual nakedness and shame that needed covering.  It symbolized that apart from God's covering, we stand naked before him.  Noah cursed the progeny of Ham because Ham had gazed upon his father's nakedness, perhaps laughing at his father or ridiculing him.  When Job was in the midst of his greatest misery, he spoke of his dread and cried, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.'"  (p. 25) 

"Because of sin still present within us, we experience embarrassment, shame, the feeling of being exposed and vulnerable.  As a result, we try to protect ourselves and avoid the gaze of others.  The ultimate problem appears to be the gaze of other people, but in reality the problem is within us and between God and ourselves."  (p. 35)

To order Ed Welch's When People are Big and God is Small click HERE

For a review of the book click HERE

When People are Big and God is Small audio:

Peer pressure, co-dependency, the fear of man:  how can someone escape being overly concerned about what others think?  This session shows how knowing the holiness of God and learning to fear Him is the only cure for the situations when people seem big and God seems small. 

For more God-glorifying resources related to our Theology Matters study go to
www.drodgersjr.com/p/theology-matters-2.html