I’ve been doing a lot of speaking as we get closer to the beginning of Rich’s Ride. I’ll share a secret with you—talking about God and hope and dreams often leaves me feeling like a fraud.
See, I know how messed up I am on the inside. I’m pretty good at telling my story and leaving folks feeling a bit more hopeful, but the inspirational guy they see isn’t what God sees.
I’m absolutely not qualified. I fail and give up multiple times every day. Who am I to speak about confronting adversity when I do it so badly?
That question, that conviction that I don’t belong, the urge to stop telling my story—those don’t come from God. They’re the lies of an enemy.
Here’s the point—none of us has any place in God’s presence. On our own merits, we simply don’t belong.
The Gospel—the Good News—is that I get that place anyway because of Jesus.
It’s an interesting paradox. As long as I understand that I don’t belong I can tell my story with a full heart. As soon as I begin to believe I’m someone special, I feel empty.
I’m not sure I’ll ever completely understand.
I guess that’s why I need Jesus.