11-19-24-DAILY READING-ENG.

EXPERIENCING THE SPIRIT

                          IN OUR WEAKNESS HE IS STRONG 

The New Testament keeps reminding us: “The Christian life is not about you. It's about what God can do through you.” Consider these words of the apostle Paul: For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

(1 Corinthians 1:26-29) Remember once more: when good people are giving their best talents to God, what the world sees and experiences is only the best they have, not the best God has for them. People usually aren't all that impressed by our talent anyway; they have their own talents. But people marvel when they see an ordinary person doing extraordinary things in the power of the Holy Spirit. You can take a test and discover your personality traits; these are very helpful to know. You can take a test and clarify your strengths and weaknesses; this too is helpful information. But the work of the Holy Spirit is something no man-made test can capture. 

Listen carefully here: the reason we're often sidetracked on this point is that it's so much easier to simply do what we're good at than it is to walk with God and obey Him when He asks us to do what we're unable to do in our own strength. That kind of obedience requires a relationship that's close enough to identify His will, a faith that's strong enough to trust His will, and a heart that's humble enough to submit to His will. God may well ask you to do something you're not good at. He will often ask you do something you don't want to do. So if you intend to serve Him only according to your aptitudes and desires, you'll miss most of what He wants to do in your life. He'll use your abilities—but He's by no means limited by them!