Daughters of Promise November/December 2014 | Page 24

BUT OUR SUFFICIENCY IS FROM GOD, who has made
us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant,
not of the letter but of the Spirit. [II Cor. 3:6]
every believer’s mysterious strength, the stunning answer Paul
gives to His own question: “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves
to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is
from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new
covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit.” (II Cor. 3:5,6, ESV)
These words must be some of the most powerful declarations in
Scripture. They hit me like a splash of water, awakening my heart.
Yes! I am sufficient because Christ lives in me! He is the Savior
and I am His vessel. I am not called to save lives, but to show
Christ. If my primary agenda is preventing an abortion, then the
plan is easily thwarted; my work is in vain. But if my chief goal is
to share Jesus’ love, then nothing can interfere.
The oppressing fear of saying the wrong thing or missing the
perfect opportunity, lifted. The words of the Holy Spirit simply
came: “Jesus loves you so much. He cares about what you have
been through and He wants to bring you healing.” She began
to cry, strong demeanor crumbling as the tender presence of
Jesus touched her heart. It was a sweet and unexpected moment.
The next day, my client returned for an ultrasound. There were
more tears as she glimpsed her baby for the first time, marveled
at its miniature perfection, saw its tiny heartbeat. This precious
lady chose life that day. Her decision was not because I was so
eloquent or so smart, but because of Jesus who used me in my
weakness to serve as a vessel of His love.
This was a powerful lesson in my life. How many times do I get
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in the way of the Holy Spirit by believing I have to do His job?
Do I really think God needs my great strength and wisdom to
accomplish His plans? There is something freeing about letting
God be God. It frees the tongue, releases supernatural wisdom,
and empowers me with strength I could never possess on my
own. When I stop defying my innate human inadequacy and
instead hold it up as an offering to God, His sufficiency becomes
mine. There is no shame in admitting our innate weakness to
God. In fact, it is those weaknesses – physical or emotional - that
qualify us to receive God’s power. This is the reverse economy of
the Kingdom: in Christ the poor are made rich, the weak made
strong, and the humble lifted up. It is good for me to understand
my human insufficiencies. They kee