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My Inadequacy, God's Adequacy

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Every Monday morning, the Blue Letter Bible staff convenes to discuss the week’s agenda and pray for the ministry. We typically begin this weekly time together by reading—out loud—one of the daily devotionals that are available at the Blue Letter Bible website. Yesterday, we read from Pastor Bob Hoekstra’s Day By Day By Grace. The staff was particularly blessed by the day’s entry, so I thought it would be great to share it with you today.

It is a helpful reminder that the whole of the Christian’s life and ministry is grace. The grace of God is not merely for the wonderful gift of salvation, but also for our sanctification and consequent glorification. It is not that God does the work of saving, and then we take over after that. It is His grace through and through!

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:5-6)

We who follow the Lord Jesus Christ are “ministers of the new covenant.” The term “minister“ means servant. The phrase “new covenant“ speaks of relating to God by grace. Thus, we are those who serve God by the resources of His grace. Our day by day lives, lived in service of the Lord God Almighty, are to be developed by the grace of God at work in us. What is involved in this biblical, heavenly approach to life here on earth?

The first issue pertains to our inadequacy. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves.” So often we overlook our personal insufficiency or try to convince ourselves that we can become sufficient with just a little more time, effort, or preparation. This approach is in direct disagreement with the Lord. God wants us to agree with Him.

Even when we begin to face our spiritual inability to produce the kind of life God is looking for, we easily underestimate the extent of our deficiency. We may think that we are just not able to produce as much as God desires to see in our lives. The Lord has a more radical viewpoint. He says that we are not able to supply “anything“ that He wants to see. Again, God wants us to agree with Him.

The second issue pertains to God’s adequacy. “Our sufficiency is from God.“ The sufficient resources for living the Christian life are to be found in God alone. We are to be the recipients of God’s grace, that is, His fully adequate supply. We are not to think we are the manufacturers of that grace. God is our source of all that is needed for godly living. Once more, God wants us to agree with Him.

The difference between living by God’s supply or by our own resources is a “life and death” matter. “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”Attempting to live the Christian life by our capabilities will eventually leave us exhausted, discouraged, condemned. Whereas, depending upon the Spirit of God to supply the abundant grace of God leaves us strengthened, encouraged, and comforted.

Lord God of all grace, I humbly admit that I have often held a perspective so different from Yours on this subject of sufficiency. I have repeatedly behaved as though the Christian life depended upon what I could do from my own resources. Lord, this has always resulted in spiritual deadness. Please teach me to trust in Your Holy Spirit to bring forth into my experience the full sufficiency of Your immeasurable grace, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Comments

  1. Amen,I Agree: Attempting to live the Christian life by our capabilities will eventually leave us exhausted, discouraged, condemned.Depending upon the Spirit of God to supply the abundant grace of God leaves us strengthened, encouraged, and comforted.

    • Amen, I agree I been facing a situation in my life that have left me exhausted, discouraged. just today so I decied to encourage my self in the word of God and here I am receiving a truth .I feel is from the Lord. Thank you in the name of Jesus

    • As a servant, I have to die to self daily. My reminder to myself is this….Don’t try to do the Lord’s work for Him, let the Lord work through you.

  4. To me, this means: “Be quiet, inside and out. Listen to and wait on the Lord. No need to worry about what others will think of you, or if you are being perceived as a “good Christian”. Just be quiet. Listen. Relax.”

    Hmmm…I think Paul put it much, much better: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty Hand of God, and in due time, He will lift you up.” (or something like that).

    • This is an EXCELLENT reminder! Wow, I need that reminder daily. Thanks for posting, and thanks for gathering to seek Him. It has benefitted me this morning. PRAISE HIS NAME!

      By the way, your comment policy made me giggle. Learned a new word. No snarky comments here! God bless you guys!!!!

      PS I LOVE BLB!!!

  5. Back in Dec. 1989, I had crisis that caused me to really die, die to sin,self,satan. This was an awesome touch of God and the revelation, illumnation, what ever I needed came to me I knew then my life over, in terms of me in the drivers seat. Long story short I knew from that day I know longer lived. Christ would live His life thru me and my assignment read the word, pray, trust. For 23 yeard now I read the Word thro 12 times a year and spend no less than 3hrs sometimes6 in prayer. Hes all He lives thro us. Gal. 1:20 This is only done by walking in the spirit. A true work of the Holy Spirit.

  7. I your daily devotional share online with us. I love the quote from John Baptist when he finish baptizing him. He told the Disciples, which were only two next to John at that time, he told them look, “Lamb of God, which takes way the sin’s of the world,”.
    He told them, it is he that you must follow now. I must decrease and he must increase. I believe that example left by John Baptist and so true for all of us. We must decrease, so Yeshua can increase and do what he desire within us, thru the power of HOLY SPIRIT. We must learn to just let go and realize, it is Power Of Holy Spirit that does the work in us and not us. I thank you for such encouraging words this morning. I needed that!..May Yeshua bless you all…

  8. I think this is so awesome. Often times God puts us in situaitons to see if we are willing ourselves to let him handle them and work them out. Most important are we going to wait until he does instead we put our hand in and make a mess of it thinking that we are doing right and in his will. In the end he will retest us on the exact same situation until we get it right and let him handle it the way he wanted to in the first place.

  9. John 6:38 It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life

    John 14:6 JESUS saith unto him I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the father but by ME

    Proverbs 8:8 All the words of MY mouth are in righteousness there is nothing froward or perverse in them

    Proverbs 8:9 They are all plain to him that understandeth and right to them that find knowledge

    Proverbs 8:7 For MY mouth shall speak TRUTH and wickedness is an abomination to my lips

    Proverbs 8:20 I lead in THE WAY of righteousness in the midst of the paths of judgement

    Proverbs 8:34-36 Blessed is the man that heareth ME watching daily at MY gates waiting at the posts of MY doors (35) for whoso findeth ME findeth LIFE and shall obtain favor of the LORD (36) But he that sinneth against ME wrongeth his own soul all they that hate ME love death

  10. Thank you for this timely reminder that my hope MUST be in Him alone! Not in my own ability. When we hope (trust)in his mercy then He comes through with SO many more blessings that my cup runs over with them (this is the grace you describe!) as it says in Psalm 147:10,11 (NLT & KJV):
    “He takes no pleasure in… human might [ability]. The LORD’s delight is in those … who put their hope in his mercy.”
    How blessed to be HIS delight!

  11. What peace we enjoy in Christ…no striving, just surrender! I’m saving this to my journal to reflect on again and again.

    By the way, aren’t we grateful to have the fruit of God’s grace in Pastor Bob’s devotions? Thank you, BLB, for posting this one.

  12. Amen brother(s)!
    I have never opened this section up until today and this is exactly what I needed to hear. To give up and let Him work. This past week was a mess, learning a new language, culture and raising a family, can be a drudgery within our own power/skill. But now let me surrender and let Him lead. Praise God for leading me here this evening

    • This too was my first time reading the day by day by grace postings. I know God led me to read this entry yesterday and was touched greatly. I have been thinking of my own sufficiency, my own strength, my own ability, my own strivings in prayer, trying to fight this battle that has come against my family. Thank you Lord for BLB and for reminding us that it truely is by your Spirit that we live, move, and have our being. Peace and a heart full of trust come from this understanding. Our burdens, the heavy loads we try to carry on our own shoulders, are lifted off of us and placed onto the shoulders of Christ when we remember this truth. Thank you Jesus. We are free in you. We are complete in you.

  13. Great reminder. The Spirit of God seems to be calling His church back to an emphasis on His grace, and the power of the gospel transform both sinner and saint. Thank you for sharing. Grace and Peace.

  16. I was so inspired by your sermonette. Thank you for the reminder that it is through and by God grace that we live. Well done!