New and Confident in Christ
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.
- (Colossians 2:6-7, New Living Translation).
Bill had already gone down to the meeting. He was so pleased (and more than a trifle proud) of his newly-elected position as Vice President on the staff of the Oklahoma Education Association. He had given me a “good-bye peck,” opened the door to our room, and walked out without a moment's hesitation. He was on his way with great anticipation to meet the people, amuse them with his “funnies,” and let them benefit from the words of wisdom that casually escaped from his lips. In other words, Bill was swimming in his element!
What he didn't know at the time was that his poor wife, Anabel, was finding it very difficult to open the door and head down the elevator for everyone to see and interact with.
I took one, long, last look in the mirror, making sure everything was in place. I viewed my new, beige, polka dot, “homemade” dress from all angles with a full-length image. Then, I started for the door. With hand on knob I said to myself, “I am an attractive woman. I am not a dummy. These people are not going to be scrutinizing my every move, my every word, how I look, or my verbal skills. A lot of them are first-grade teachers! Surely I can handle first grade teachers! It is absolutely ridiculous for me to act this way. Throw back your shoulders and smile!” And with that stern lecture, I opened the door with trembling fingers and stepped out into the world of people, basically terrified.
That's a pretty scary way to leave the safety of the hotel room, isn't it? But that was the best I could do. That comprised my fragile body of truth—those things I believed would equip me for facing the “basically terrifying” events of my life. I had tried a lot of things. Discarded a lot of things. Settled on a few. And those few kept me going.
How different it is today! I have my body of truth and it isn't fragile; it isn't bent all out of shape when things don't go right; it doesn't depend on whether I'm attractive or if I can hold my own conversationally in any group, or that I'm a published author. No. It depends on one—and only one—performance act on my part: What I have done with Jesus Christ? The moment that I accepted Him at salvation He gave me this awesome, unshakable, body of truth .
According to Him, that old, frightened Anabel died in Christ (Galatians 2:20) and was reborn “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). I became someone new when I was born again (II Corinthians 5:17), and the life of Christ became my life (Colossians 3:4). Furthermore, I was transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light (Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13). I'm different! I'm new! As this new creation in Christ, that old body of “truth” I walked in for years is null and void, and it is no longer who I am.
Try walking out of your hotel room now, Anabel! It works every time! I'm rather amazed at myself and how well “I” handle the pressures today that used to be much like walking up the gallows to the hangman's noose! I wish I could say that my emotional condition has improved as markedly as my belief system. Not so. But my emotions have a hard time thinking . . . maybe they'll catch up one of these days.