Serving in the strength that God provides…
After a busy week and a busy Saturday, we were able to spend a couple of hours at the home of some of our friends. As we ate, read Scripture, and prayed, we were renewed and refreshed by the Spirit.
One of our friends was praying for another family. This family is dealing with a loved one with cancer. Soon, the wife will be travelling to take care of him. As another friend was praying for them, he asked God to help them to serve in God’s strength and not in their own strength.
This simple prayer led to a wonderful discussion of relying completely on God and not trying to rely on ourselves and our own abilities. I admit that many times when I see something that should be done, I am tempted to jump in and do it, even though I know that God has not provided me with the opportunities nor the resources to do it. What happens then? I end up doing something in my own strength, getting tired and angry, and failing to obey God in what he wanted me to do in the first place. Why? Because I am attempting to serve God and others our of my own strength instead of the strength that God provides.
In 1 Peter 4:11, Peter says that those who serve should do so “as one who serves by the strength that God supplies” (ESV). This is difficult. This means that I must trust God. When I see something that is not being done, and God has not provided me with the opportunities nor the strength to do it, then I must trust God that he has provided someone else to take care of that need.
We had several other very uplifting and challenging discussions, both as a group and one-on-one with other believers. It is amazing how the Spirit uses other believers to stir us up to love and good works.