His grace, not your strength

His grace, not your strength

Philippians 2:13 AMP

I’ve heard time and time again that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. And the more I live and see the lives of others, the more I realize that statement is kind of bologna.

God gives us, time and time again, much much more than we can handle. If I am honest with you all right now, I can tell you, I can’t handle being a good wife, mom, pastor, Christian. Seemingly simple things like that are truly difficult things to do in my own strength. I will without doubt mess them up, bad!

If God only gave us things we can handle then we wouldn’t need Him. He gives us only things He can handle, and that my friends, is anything! He stretches our faith by giving us things well far out of our reach so that we will depend on Him to do that which we cannot do.

When faced with things that we can’t handle we have the option of trying to figure it out ourselves, or we can honestly tell God  we don’t know how to and give them all up to Him.

That is why Philippians 2:13 has become one of my favorite Scriptures. In the Amplified version it reads: “[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.”

What a relief to know I don’t have to come up with the energy, or the power, or even the desire to do what pleases Him. I just have to give it all to Him, and He gives me those things back.

What are areas in your life where you have been working out of your own strength and not letting God be God? I encourage you to surrender it all to Him today, and let Him work in you for His good pleasure.