When we need help, we learn how to draw near to God, trust Him, and rely on His power
The Blessings of Inadequacy
2 CORINTHIANS 3:1-6
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Paul never claimed that he was capable of accomplishing all that God called him to do. He simply learned to look beyond his own inadequacy to the sufficiency of Christ. If we’ll adopt the same practice, we too can discover the blessings hidden in our own experiences of inadequacy.
Our insufficiency drives us to God. When we realize that a situation is bigger than we can handle, we must be quick to open the Bible and pray for guidance and power.
Inadequacy relieves us of the burden of self-effort and self-reliance. The Lord has us right where He wants us—at the end of our rope with nothing left to give.
Inability motivates reliance on divine power. God never intended for us to do certain things by ourselves. We’ll never be adequate until we draw from the Holy Spirit’s inexhaustible strength and let Him work in and through us.
By using inadequate people, God demonstrates what great things He can do. He actually delights in choosing unlikely individuals to carry out His plan. There’s no limit to what He can do through someone willing to give Him full control.
Inadequacy challenges our faith. The apostle Paul says, “Our adequacy is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). Those who focus on the reliability of this promise and step out in obedience will grow in faith.
Why go through all the fear, pressure, and frustration that accompany feelings of inadequacy when there’s an alternative? Let the Lord make you adequate: Rely upon Him and allow Christ to live in and through you. He will replace your anxiety with a spirit of contentment.
In Touch Ministries