HIS SUFFICIENCY
II Corinthians 12:9
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
As a kid there were two activities that I loved more than anything else. The first one was baseball. I was the first to the field and the last one to leave. On the afternoons that we didn't have practice, we were playing catch in our back yard , or you could find a bunch of us boys having a game in an empty lot in the neighborhood. I loved to play. I had the same drive for hunting.
I wanted to succeed so badly at hunting and baseball that I was willing to do most anything to be a success. I was good at baseball for our area... But I didn't go beyond our hometown. I was successful at hunting... but I wanted to be better and it ate me up. I kept thinking, "if I just play a little more, do a little more batting practice... hunt a few more days, climb a little higher... just a little more".
As church leaders and especially pastors we see the conviction to feel like we always have to do, "just a little bit more". Sometimes it's the congregation pushing, sometimes it's our own hearts pushing, but whatever it is, we feel likes it's never enough. Even those that aren't in leadership feel the pull towards insufficiency in our lives.
I write today to tell you that if you're feeling that no matter how hard you try, it doesn't quite get you to other's level of expectations, that you're chasing a dream that is unattainable. And if you are part of a church that is pushing your pastor to bring in more people or raise more money, you are wrong in your motives.
Satan lies to God's people all the time, telling us that we are inadequate. He wants God's children to work harder and harder to try to get further... to get a little better. Satan wants us to be so busy that we lose sight of what is really important and focus on worldly things.
God can do great things through the lives of His children. But it's God's work through us, not our work for Him that will change our world. We can work harder and harder, but no matter what, it won't add up to a hill of beans if God is not involved in the process. Remember, Satan is the chief of liars and he will do everything and anything to convince us to work harder and harder until we are of no use to anyone.
Remember "God's Grace is sufficient"... we aren't. Remember, the world will tell us, "if you just try a little harder you can do it on your own".... It's not true. We will always fall short if we count on our own strength to get the job done.
I've spoken at times when I was so worn down that I didn't feel I could do it. It's at these times when I am most effective... because I don't have the strength and God does... He takes over and does it all, without me getting in the way. But that is God's strength not mine.
Don't be fooled into thinking that if you just did a little more for God that everything will be alright. Trust that your efforts, when given to God, are just right for His purposes.
Oswald Chambers, "Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God."
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