Day By Day Grace Readings May 1
Day By Day Grace Readings May 1, May 2nd May 3rd May 4th May 5th May 6th May 7th May 8th May 9th May 10th May 11th May 12th May 13th May 14th May 15th May 16th May 17th May 18th May 19th May 20th May 21st May 22nd May 23rd May 24th May 25th May 26th May 27th May 28th May 29th May 30th May 31st
The Source of Our Sufficiency
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God… [We] have no confidence in the flesh…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (2 Corinthians 3:5-6; Philippians 3:3; 4:13)
We have been considering how God's grace develops traits of godliness in our lives. Such studies are related to finding the source of our sufficiency. Where are believers in Jesus Christ supposed to find adequate resources for living godly lives? The scriptures answer this question in a two-fold manner. First, God wants us to realize that we are not the source of anything that is needed. Second, God wants us to understand that He is the source of everything that is needed.
Our inadequacy is the first matter the Lord desires to clarify for us. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves." Our own personal inadequacy is so comprehensive that we cannot expect that anything godly or eternal will source from us. We do not have any resources that can save a soul, transform a life, or cause the Lord's church to be edified. This is a drastically different perspective on life than what we initially held. Man's natural mind assumes that we must be the source of all that is needed for daily living. God's word repeatedly warns us not to adopt this viewpoint. The Psalmists proclaimed such. "Vain is the help of man…Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help" (Psalm 108:12; 146:3). Jesus elaborated on this theme. "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Paul taught the same. " [We] have no confidence in the flesh (that is, in human resources)."
God's adequacy is the second matter that He wants to clarify for us. "Our sufficiency is from God." As surely as we are totally inadequate to supply what we need for life, God is fully adequate to be our comprehensive source for living. The Psalmists understood this corollary truth as well. "Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies…Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them" (Psalm 108:13; 146:5-6). Jesus offered the same sufficient provisions. "He who abides in Me…bears much fruit" (John 15:5). Paul testified of the same reality. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." God is the source of our sufficiency in all that pertains to developing godly characteristics.
Dear Lord my sufficiency, I repent of my frequent tendency to look to myself to find personal adequacy. How vain and hopeless that is. Lord, teach me to hope in You for everything I need for godly living, in Jesus' name, Amen.