I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. (Psalm 130:5)

Read: 1 Kings 9:1 – 10:29, Acts 8:14-40, Psalm 130:1-8, Proverbs 17:2-3

Relate: I recently finished watching the first season of Agent Carter. It wasn’t the best thing Marvel has put out there but it was pretty good. For those who aren’t familiar, the TV show highlights the career of Agent Peggy Carter, who made her fame as being the girlfriend of Steve Rogers (also known as Captain America). Carter finds herself in a tough spot after the war because all the “boys” are back from the war and she has found herself relegated to filing the reports and getting the coffee while the “real men” do the real work. Time and again she has to prove herself to these guys that she is as good (better) of an undercover agent as they are.

In a way, what she is going through does remind me a bit of what Steve had to endure at the beginning of the original Captain America movie. He was a tiny little guy who wanted to make a big difference. All he wanted to do was join the army and serve His country. All he got was discouragement. Over and over again he would go to a recruiting office only to be rejected. “You’re too young… You’re too small… Put on a little muscle, kid… Your vision is terrible, we’d never take you… You see the word, ‘good’? That’s what we’re looking for, a few good men. Not a few scrawny kids.”

But someone saw something different. Dr Abraham Erskine saw something more in him. He accepted Steve as he was and offered him something greater. When Steve Rogers decided to listen to the Doctor rather than what the world said about him, he was changed from the inside out. From that day on he became something more. On that day Captain America was born.

React: What does the world say about me? What does God say about me? Which voice do I listen to? I’m too short, too tall, too skinny, too fat, a girl. I’m not smart enough. I’m too smart for my own good. I’m not talented enough. I cannot make a difference. I’m not rich enough. I don’t have the right connections. I’ve made too many mistakes. My past is riddled with too many failures. I’m overqualified. I need more experience. I’m too young. I’m too old. I need more education. I don’t have what it takes. I am a slave to my passions. I can never do it. Or…

I am His child. I am a new creation. I am a holy priesthood. I am royalty. I have been adopted by the King. I am a friend of God. I’ve been redeemed. I’ve been set free. I am not who I once was. I am an heir with Christ. I am holy. I am righteous. I am victorious. I am made alive in Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and seated in the heavenlies with the Father. I am alive.

The thing is, all too often I am like Captain America still listening to and living under the criticisms thrown at Steve Rogers. God has changed me on the inside, but I’m still living under the restrictions placed on that old me. So many voices have told me no for so long that I cannot hear the divine yes shouting out from He who lives in me. It is time to tune in to His voice. It is time to get out of the closet of fear, to crawl out from under the bed, and get into the world He is calling me to change.

Respond: 

God, help me to listen to You. There are voices that clamor for my attention. There are words that have spoken to me, about me, that have chained me to a life of fear and doubt. Some of those words I have said about myself. But I know who You are. You are truth. You are love. And You have said I am more. Help me to truly believe that I am all You say I am.