Psalm 44:6 I put no trust in my bow,
    my sword does not bring me victory.

We all have the tendency to depend on what we can see and feel, when those things are transitory at best. At times it can become a major test of faith. However, as Paul said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) This verse refers to physical battle, but again as Paul said, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:4) One of the biggest barriers to people receiving all that God has for them, from eternal life on down to whatever you can think of, is the desire to take credit for our lives, our victories, our salvation. The thing is, we can’t draw a single breath apart from the grace of God. That particular way of putting it occurred to me many years ago, but since then I’ve understood that the universe itself couldn’t exist apart from God’s gracious intent, because physicists can’t explain why atoms hold together without using terms like “spooky.” We are totally dependent on God, but we don’t like that fact, and we rebel against Him. How foolish! The better we understand our place in the scheme of things, incredibly small and insignificant, but at the same time unbelievably loved and counted precious by God, the more we will delight in our weaknesses, because they are reminders of who and what we are, in relation to Who and What God is. This doesn’t remove our accountability to our Creator, but it corrects our perspective and allows us to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him. Paul very famously expressed it as, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) God created us to do His will, and he equipped each one of us for the tasks He had in mind. Those tasks are unique to each individual, so each person’s gifts are likewise unique. There are similarities among us all, but we are never to think of ourselves as “above” or “below” anyone else because of our differences. There is no room for either pride or jealousy in God’s kingdom! We are to keep pressing in for more of God, and He does continue to give more to those who are faithful with what they already have, but the glory is always His.

This is of great importance to me, because God started me out with a fairly unusual set of abilities, and I thought I deserved them! Depending on my gifts (instead of on God), I looked down on those who didn’t have them, and so became utterly foolish. I had to learn that my “bow” and my “sword” weren’t the true source of my successes. Humility is so much better than pride that I don’t have words to express it! God has had work for me to do, and I have done some of it. I don’t know that I’ll ever know all that He wanted me to do that I failed to do! At this point I am very aware that my time to keep serving God on this earth is limited, but then, it’s limited for every human being. One of my tasks is to help others understand that they too were created for a purpose by a God who loves them, and the more I succeed at that task, the happier my Creator will be. It’s clear that I can’t do that by my own strength and wisdom, but it’s also clear that God can use even me to get the job done, so I am to keep myself available.

Father, thank You for this reminder. This doesn’t seem like just a Sunday message, it seems like a whole series! Help me express what You are saying to Your people so that they will receive it with joy, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!