“He is before all things,
Colossians 1:17 (NIV)
and in Him all things hold together.”
Faith without Deeds/Deeds without Faith
I don’t know about you, but I am rather quick to make the mental shift from “this is God’s will for my life” to “I’ve got to make it happen.” I shift into “make it happen” mode partly because I am aware that God has not called me to be a passive bystander.
As James says,
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says,”
James 1:22 (NIV)
and,
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
James 2:26 (NIV)
My problem is that I put separation between the doing of the deeds and my faith in the One who has called me to do them — a separation that makes the doing unfruitful or downright impossible.
The Vine Holds It All Together
Jesus makes the necessity of both doing deeds and our dependence upon Him clear.
“I am the True Vine, and my Father is the Gardener.
2He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.4Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
5I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5 (NIV)
The deeds He’s called me to do? “Bear fruit.”
The dependence required for this? “Remain in Me.”
There’s no room for the “I’ve got to make it happen” mentality with Jesus: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
NOTHING. Not one single, solitary thing of eternal consequence can be done apart from Him. He, the True Vine, holds it all together.
So what am I so worried about?
I know my weaknesses.
I am weak… but I’m not boasting about it.
Isn’t it crazy how an acute awareness of your own weaknesses can get you thinking that it’s all up to you, the weak one??? Crazy, but true.
There probably isn’t a Christian familiar with II Corinthians 12 who doesn’t have a soft spot for verses 9 and 10. Yet we seem to have a real problem with living it out. At least I do!
“But He (the Lord Jesus) said to me (the apostle Paul),
‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
II Cor. 12:9-10 (NIV)
My knee-jerk responses to my weaknesses?
- Hide ’em. (Maybe no one will ever see it.)
- Cover for ’em. (I can probably talk my way out of it.)
- Overcome ’em. (I’ll work harder than ever to get rid of it.)
Do any of these sound even remotely like gladly boasting about or delighting in? No.
Weak But Not Wallowing
Of course, wallowing in weaknesses like a pig in mud is not what is called for here, either. Paul is not talking about using his weakness as an excuse for not doing what he has been called to do, or for avoiding further sanctification.
“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.”
II Cor. 12:7,8 (NIV)
Paul had some type of weakness that was tormenting him — he even refers to it as “a messenger of Satan.” Instead of just complaining about it, or using it as an excuse not to do what he had been called to do, he pleaded three times with the Lord to take it away.
[Side-note: How often do I complain about something rather than pray for the Lord to take it away??? Yikes.]
Paul was living obediently to the call of God on his life despite incredible hardship (see II Cor. 11:23-33).
He was casting his cares on the Lord through persistent prayer.
And the answer was…?
“But He (Jesus) said to me (Paul),
II Cor. 12:9 (NIV)
‘My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness.'”
Promises and Purpose
Jesus’ answer to obedient, faithful Paul was not to take away his tormenting weakness; His answer was the promise of His sufficiency and perfect power. There was also a sanctifying reason for this particular thorn to remain:
so Paul would not become conceited (II Cor. 12:7).
When we are in Christ Jesus, our weaknesses have purpose. They do not have to be a hindrance to God’s will for our lives; they can be a major part of the plan! Like Paul, we have weaknesses that can:
- keep us from becoming conceited;
- remind us His grace is our real sufficiency;
- and allow His power to be perfected in and through our lives.
Sufficient Grace & Perfect Power
| sufficient: | enough; adequate |
| grace: | the free and unmerited favor of God |
| perfect: | as good as it is possible to be |
| power: | The ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality. |
With these definitions in mind, let’s think about how we could respond differently when faced with the God’s will + our weaknesses equation.
Instead of asking, “Am I enough to do this?”,
pray, “Lord, please bless me with Your favor in this, and that will be more than enough.”
Instead of asking, “Am I too weak to do this?”,
pray, “Lord, I am too weak to do this. May Your power be perfected in my weakness. I delight to depend on You; I want Your power to rest on me!”
Feelings & appearances are overrated.
The objective is not for us to feel powerful or look like we’re holding it all together; it’s for us to remain in Him and bear fruit.
“This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.”
John 15:8 (NIV)
This is not about our glory, but the Father’s glory. We may very well feel weak and look dependent — we are branches, after all! And praise God we are! Branches don’t have to hold it all together; we just hold on to the Vine.
DAY 68 PRAYER:
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for choosing me and appointing me to bear fruit (John 15:16), to be part of what You are up to in the world and throughout eternity. I am humbled by this privilege!
Lord, I am quick to get off track and start thinking that obedience to You requires me “making things happen.”
I remember that faith without deeds is dead, but forget that deeds without faith are just as dead.
I see my weaknesses as liabilities instead of opportunities for Your power to rest on me. Change my perspective. Help me remember that I am a branch to Your Vine: You hold it all together; I hold on to You!
I love You; thank You for first loving me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Branches don’t have to hold it all together; we just hold on to the Vine.