God's Ability

“Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (II Corinthians 12:9)

What do we do when we find ourselves faced with a difficult task? Do we act like Joshua and Caleb and shout that we are well able to take the land? Or do we begin to make excuses, “There are giants in the land!” “We are but grasshoppers in their sight!” (Numbers 13:32-33)

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, God will tilt the playing field in our favor, if we will but trust him and run toward the giant. David ran toward the giant (I Samuel 17:48). You see, God is only requiring our best, not the best; David did not have a tank, a rocket propelled grenade launcher, or an automatic weapon. He didn’t have air cover or even a brave army behind him. He only had his best, and though it was far-fetched and virtuously impossible that a giant would be taken out with a single stone, slung from the slingshot of a young boy, it happened nonetheless.

God took David’s best, and added His grace, His favor, and the anointing, and David took out the giant. God tilted the playing field in David’s favor, and gave him victory over his enemy.

“Well, that was David, not me!” you may say. But God has not changed, and this principle is still true today. Many times we look at our own abilities and think, “Ha ha, no way!” “Not me!” “I could never do that!” “That kind of stuff is reserved for greater men than me!” “Those with a degree in such and such, those with wealth and power and fame.” But God doesn’t look at it that way; he takes the foolish things of this world to confound the things that are mighty (I Corinthians 1:27-29).

Has God asked you to do something? Then he has faith in you, that you are able to accomplish the assignment. You are well able to kill the giant and walk away with the spoils of victory. The only thing that God requires is that we believe, and then put our hand to the work, and He will fill in the inadequacies; he will bridge the gaps so that we are able to reach the prize.

Moses was a mighty man of God with a destiny and a burden in his heart. He was called of God to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, and thought that his brethren would understand his calling, but they didn’t (Acts 7:25). Moses was full of zeal, and ready to go, “I’m your man, God! Let’s get it done! He attempted to answer the call in his own strength and killed one Egyptian, and then fled into the land of Midian, where he kept sheep, got married and had a family, for 40 years. By the time that God met with him to send him back to Egypt to meet Pharaoh, Moses was a different man. “God, you made some mistake!” “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?” “Send Aaron!” (Exodus 3:11) But he was right where God wanted him; he had no more confidence in the flesh, and it would be by God’s mighty hand.

Peter was a man called of God, but he was full of fleshly confidence, “I will go with you to death and to prison, and even though all these other disciples forsake you, I will never!” But Peter denied Jesus three times, and then left the ministry and went back to his fishing business. But when the Holy Spirit came upon Peter, he was changed, and he stood up boldly in the book of Acts, declaring the Word of the Lord! (Acts 2:14-36)

God called Gideon to deliver Israel from the hands of the Midianites, but Gideon was a cowardly man, and he told God that he had made a mistake in choosing him (Judges 6:15). But God ignored his excuses, and called him a “Mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12) God finally convinced Gideon that he was with him, and Gideon and his 32,000 men were ready to go. But God said no, not yet, your army is too big! God said, “It will be by my hand, not the strength of the flesh, and He reduced Gideon’s army to 300 men.

God’s grace is always sufficient for us, though the task may seem difficult, if not impossible. But if we will trust in the Lord, and rely on His strength, he will always cause us to triumph, and give us the head of the giant!