I often wonder why our Christianity in the western world is so impotent when we compare it to what God is doing in so many countries around the world. I often wonder why we have to substitute academia or hype for spirituality in our church services. Why does God remain silent when we cry out to Him? Why does God not lead the way clearly and powerfully as He did in history and as He does in the persecuted church?
As I was praying about this the Lord clearly said to me that we really don’t need Him. Huh? (that was my reaction too!!!). As I thought about it He was right. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 again and think about what Paul is going through. Paul is brought into a situation where he is weak, unable to use his human resources and strength to push on. Paul needed God and could rely only on God to see him through.
As I was reflecting on this passage and the Lord’s answer to my plea, it dawned on me that we are never really weak and desperate for the Lord to intervene. Let me share a few illustrations to show you what I mean. We give to the Lord but we never give to the point of needing God to provide our daily bread. We would never give sacrificially, all we have to live on, like the woman in the temple. Our preachers are trained in academia, in public speaking, in answering objections and so on. They know the Bible inside out. The Spirit doesn’t need to talk to them. Our services are so meticulously planned and so tuned and tweaked that God has no room to work. Most of us, when we go on mission, go for the short term. We have a job waiting for us back home. Our family waits to welcome us. We can step easily into our comfortable life. I don’t need God to provide because I can hack it for a few weeks in the rough of the mission field.
As the Lord’s words - "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"- rang in my ears, it became evident to me that we are never weak. We don’t need God to work because we have been so blessed with everything we need and want.
Now please don’t hear this as a call to sloppiness. We need to plan. We need to think through implications. We need to be on the ball. But can we delight in weakness when we are obsessed with image and perfection? Can we endure hardship and insults when we believe that our creature comforts are a sign of God’s true love for us? Can we walk through persecution with the power of God and singing His praises when we think that the be all and end all of our life is ending the persecution?
Paul can cry out, ‘When I am weak then I am strong’, because it’s in the weakness that the power of God begins to shine forth. Can you cry out with Paul?
Prayer:-
- Pray that the power of God will be seen in your life and the life of your congregation. Ask God to show you what that power will really look like.
- Pray for the believers in Shiloh Church Ministries who have lost literally everything. Some have had homes destroyed and even families killed for their faith in Jesus. As they shelter in Shiloh Church Ministries’ compounds, they need the power of God to forgive their enemies, to bless the persecutors and to continue preaching the Word. Pray for the power of God to be evident and working in their lives.
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