What a powerful reminder for us this week! “Jars of clay” was a metaphor in Biblical times for “human weakness.” Paul is gently reminding the Corinthians (and us today), “Why are you focused so much on the container? It’s about the contents.”
This week, as we memorize this verse, let’s check our pride, pressure and power.
Pride
It’s not about us & what we bring to the table. We impress God when He looks down and sees Himself in us. Any talent or ability we possess is not from ourselves, but is a gift from God. We can’t delusion ourselves to believe anything different.
Satan would love nothing more than for us to give ourselves the glory. When we glory-hog our success, God is minimized, and therefore, we limit the Gospel. Let’s make sure any time we experience success at any level that we point others the One who deserves the glory.
Pressure
Do you ever believe Satan’s lie that you’re too ordinary to make an impact for the Gospel? Or that your circle of influence is so small, that it doesn’t matter whether you live boldly for God or not?
I’ll never forget learning this truth from my sweet friend, Brandi Wilson: “When we believe we can’t do something, we really aren’t doubting ourselves. We are doubting God’s ability to use us.”
Talk about perspective check! The next time you catch yourself believing you “can’t” do something, forget the container and remember WHO you contain! Release the pressure from yourself to perform the task, but trust God can do anything through you if you are willing to make yourself available for Him to use.
Power
A few months ago, I had a frustrating experience when my blender just stopped working. There it was — all of the smoothie contents already in the blender and no way to blend it. I was getting ready to go find the box to return it to the store when I made a miraculous discovery. There was nothing wrong with my blender; it had simply gotten unplugged from the wall.
In order to do work for God, we have to be plugged into Him. Without His power in us, we are going to be aimlessly struggling with no power source. So simply put: We can’t do His work if we aren’t plugged into Him.
Let’s not allow ourselves to become blind to the basics. If we want others to see Jesus in us and allow Him to work through us, we must spend time with Him. So the next time you find yourself frustrated or frazzled, instead of troubleshooting your life randomly, just plug your Power back in and see how quickly He gets you running smoothly again.
Prayer:
God, thank you for Your willingness to use us, despite our weakness and limitations. But God – we praise You for our weaknesses, because it’s in our weakness, that others can best see You. God, don’t let pride keep us from giving You the glory You deserve. And don’t let our own selfishness & insecurity create doubt in our heart on what You can do through us, because we know that You know no limits. Above all, keep us running back to You daily for refreshment, renewal, and power. You are the “how” behind all we do. We love you! Amen.
We love memorizing His Word together. We’d love some tips from you – how do you memorize Scripture? Let’s give some inspiration to those who are new or looking for fresh ideas!
