Our God is Able

DEVOTION

2 CORINTHIANS

OUR GOD IS ABLE

2 Cor 11:30-33

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

NIV

Sometimes it is far easier to boast to brag about our own accomplishments then it is about God’s. Maybe we are actually boasting about God’s but in a sort of back-handed way. It would seem we do not spend much time boasting about our weakness, but rather we spend most of our time boasting about our strength. Some believers even boast about the fact they do not sin anymore or at least they cannot remember the last time they sinned. If that is not boasting about self, what is? In that testimony they was no mention of God at all, it was all about self and the word I. It seems seldom we here people boast about the fact they have absolutely no talent of their own, or no ability of they own, not formal training, no education, no degrees or any other form of skill in an area, but that God is using them in this area so that they cannot boast about themselves, but can only boast about God. We have to know we are nothing but sinners, weak, human, unable to not only save ourselves, but we cannot even serve the Kingdom of God in our human strength. All we are all we have and all we do for the Kingdom of God is because God gives us all we need. We need to boast about how weak we are. We need to boast about how we cannot do anything in and of ourselves, so that we can boast about God. But somehow that seems to be against our nature. Do we want to feel good about ourselves, have we signed on to the world’s view of self-esteem? Why do we think we are what we are? Is it because of our hard work? Is it because of our efforts to learn our trade, our skill, our talent, our profession? So who we are, what we have and what we do, is all because of our efforts, but despite all that we love the Lord and because we are so smart, we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That sounds so ludicrous. We are nothing without Christ. We are lost in our sin without Jesus. We are fools hopeless without Jesus. We are human bent on sin and doomed to destruction without Jesus. But with Jesus we are simply saved from all that. We need Jesus period. We still are weak, unable to free ourselves from sin. We still are unable to be perfect. We need Jesus. When Jesus comes into our lives, God declares us innocent and he also empowers us to serve for the benefit of his kingdom. In our weakness He is made strong. Our God is able.