It’s Friday…Resist the Urge

Ever asked why human reasoning runs so contrary to God’s ways? It seems only logical that if we want to be strong, we should strive to be strong. If we want to be victorious, we should exert power. If we want to experience success, we should learn strategies for success. This makes sense in any line of reasoning – that is, except God’s.

God’s methods don’t fit our logic because His purposes do not match ours. He will not divert His glory to His creatures. Our victories must come from His hands. And for Him to be glorified in His hands, His hands must be visible.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

That is why God has us fighting our battles from a state of weakness. We fight from a position of strength – in Him – but we do it from a posture of weakness so that His demonstration of power will not be clouded by our own resources and feeble self-efforts. For some reason, this is a hard lesson for us who follow God to learn. Yes, in God’s economy, we are strongest when we submit to Him in a posture of weakness.

The apostle Paul was tormented by a messenger of satan. We don’t know how that messenger manifested itself, though theories abound. What we do know is that God, in His wisdom, did not remove the thorn from Paul’s flesh. He used it as an occasion to demonstrate His powerful grace. And Paul, in wisdom that can only come from God, learned to accept his hardship for the greater good of displaying God’s strength.

The next time we find ourselves in the heat of a battle – and this will be a regular occurrence for those who love God with all our heart – let’s Resist The Urge to be strong on our own. Let’s call on His. Let’s acknowledge our natural impotence. It only stands to reason that as finite beings we will always be outmatched in a life-or-death spiritual struggle.

So, let’s not allow pride to talk us out of accepting this truth. Instead, let’s embrace and lean on God’s grace, understanding that the key to victory in our battle today is His power – a power that will only and always be revealed when we stop trying to rival it. Our sufficiency is in what God brings into our situation: Himself.

Have a victorious weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who have learned from the school-of-hard-knocks that it is always best to defer to His strength. They know that’s when they are truly strong.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)