This week, I will let Jesus fill in my gaps.
You’ll fail; it’s inevitable. But God already has a plan in place for making you a success.
I fall short. Here I am, serving in ministry, but I don’t have what it takes. Again and again, I find that I’m not educated enough — or not experienced enough — or not holy enough — or whatever.
But is God frustrated? Not a bit. His plan is that imperfect people, people without complete knowledge and wisdom, trust God and give themselves over to be used by him however he sees fit — and God somehow makes it work!
When the apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the Christians in the Greek city of Corinth, he talked about this same inadequacy: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25-28). Perhaps some Corinthians thought their salvation should have transformed them into supermen. But Paul set them straight: “...Think of what you were when you were called,” he went on. “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things....”
If I feel guilty, ashamed, or discouraged by my own shortcomings in ministry, those aren’t signals I’m receiving from the Spirit of Christ! Someone else is whispering to me. Paul states emphatically in 1 Corinthians 1:30 that Jesus has become wisdom for us — he has become our righteousness. Where we come up short, he fills in the gaps.
Paul himself — perhaps the greatest Christian ever, the Billy Graham or Mother Teresa of his day — admitted that even he wasn’t all that sharp. According to 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, he showed up without eloquence, without superior wisdom, in weakness and fear (to the point of trembling). About as unfit for his God-given assignment as one could possibly be!
So Paul — hopeless as he was — threw himself on his one and only hope: he resolved simply “to know” Jesus. To walk with him, to listen to his voice, to commune with him day in and day out. With no other hope for success, Paul simply flung himself on Christ’s mercy, and said, in effect, “Do with me what you will!”
The result: “a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” that inspired a healthy faith in the people to whom Paul was called to minister. This is our potential too ... as we focus on Jesus alone, and let him “do his thing” through us. Our ministries can express his power — and that will be far greater than any “greatness” we could produce.
My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... I know I fall short, Lord, but don’t let me be discouraged or sidetracked by my shortcomings. Walk with me intimately, and remind me continually of your commitment to use me effectively for your glory, no matter what. Amen.
You’ll fail; it’s inevitable. But God already has a plan in place for making you a success.
I fall short. Here I am, serving in ministry, but I don’t have what it takes. Again and again, I find that I’m not educated enough — or not experienced enough — or not holy enough — or whatever.
But is God frustrated? Not a bit. His plan is that imperfect people, people without complete knowledge and wisdom, trust God and give themselves over to be used by him however he sees fit — and God somehow makes it work!
When the apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the Christians in the Greek city of Corinth, he talked about this same inadequacy: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25-28). Perhaps some Corinthians thought their salvation should have transformed them into supermen. But Paul set them straight: “...Think of what you were when you were called,” he went on. “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things....”
If I feel guilty, ashamed, or discouraged by my own shortcomings in ministry, those aren’t signals I’m receiving from the Spirit of Christ! Someone else is whispering to me. Paul states emphatically in 1 Corinthians 1:30 that Jesus has become wisdom for us — he has become our righteousness. Where we come up short, he fills in the gaps.
Paul himself — perhaps the greatest Christian ever, the Billy Graham or Mother Teresa of his day — admitted that even he wasn’t all that sharp. According to 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, he showed up without eloquence, without superior wisdom, in weakness and fear (to the point of trembling). About as unfit for his God-given assignment as one could possibly be!
So Paul — hopeless as he was — threw himself on his one and only hope: he resolved simply “to know” Jesus. To walk with him, to listen to his voice, to commune with him day in and day out. With no other hope for success, Paul simply flung himself on Christ’s mercy, and said, in effect, “Do with me what you will!”
The result: “a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” that inspired a healthy faith in the people to whom Paul was called to minister. This is our potential too ... as we focus on Jesus alone, and let him “do his thing” through us. Our ministries can express his power — and that will be far greater than any “greatness” we could produce.
My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... I know I fall short, Lord, but don’t let me be discouraged or sidetracked by my shortcomings. Walk with me intimately, and remind me continually of your commitment to use me effectively for your glory, no matter what. Amen.
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God —that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God —that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
No comments:
Post a Comment