Ever feel like you don’t have what you need to get the job done the Lord has given to you? Do you feel inadequate or utterly unable to do what is necessary?
Let me cut to the chase. If any Christ-followers feel this way, it is quite likely our own fault. How? Why?
Ephesians 1 says, among other things, that we who have received Christ have been given “every spiritual blessing.” 2 Peter 1 goes on to emphasize, that “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” Paul again points out in Colossians 2 that in Christ “you have been made complete.”
What does all this mean? It means we have been given everything God’s got to live the life He wants us to live. We don’t have to pray, “Lord, please bless me,” because He’s already given every blessing He’s got. In Him we are made complete because He’s already granted everything necessary for a life of godliness.
This is not prosperity gospel, nor is it a call to do things under our own power with our own abilities. This is a call to do that which the Lord has called us to do, with the tools He’s already given us to accomplish the task.
When you became a Christ-follower, God gave you equal capacity with every other Christ-follower. An equal capacity to love. An equal capacity to have joy, peace and contentment. An equal capacity to have patience, kindness and goodness. An equal capacity to be faithful, gentle, and to exercise self-control. An equal capacity to minister to others. An equal capacity to worship and serve.
Having a hard time seeing that you have all this available to you? Why do others around you seem more able to witness to others? To serve one another? To be loving, patient, kind, gentle, etc.? It’s probably because they are putting their life of faith into practice and you are not. I don’t mean just going through the motions, but actually doing those things to which God has called us: worship, prayer, confession, consecration; the list goes on and on. An equal capacity to do something does not mean an equal ability. As with any skill or talent, it must be honed, which takes a lot hard work on our part. Those “spiritual giants” you see around you are the way they are because they are out there doing, not just hoping and wishing they could, or waiting around for better training or the like. Your pastor didn’t become the leader he is because he went to seminary, he became a spiritual leader because he’s spent years in study, reflection, meditation, prayer, service, etc. You can do the same.
Commit today that instead of doing what you’ve always done (then ask God to bless it), do the things that God has already promised in His Word that He will bless.
(Image by: Lee Hodges)
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