Column by Sumter Pastor Joey Durham: God enables those of us whom He directs to serve His kingdom
Thank you so much for spending time with our ministry today! Our devotion is on this thought, "Enabling Grace," and my text is found in 1 Timothy 1:12-16. "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." (KJV)
Whenever God calls His children to do something for Him, He always provides enabling grace to accomplish that ministry.
Paul recognized this fact and thanked his Savior who enabled him and gave him a ministry to labor in. Paul realized that it was not his background or his natural abilities that enabled him for the task his Lord had given him. Instead, God caused Paul to understand that all of the things his flesh would naturally brag about were to be counted "loss" for Christ.
This is a Bible truth, that we should place no confidence in our flesh. This is why the believer must daily walk with God and consistently occupy our place at the Throne of Grace. Many times, a believer will gravitate to one of two extremes.
Many times, a believer will feel that they have no talents or abilities and, therefore, could not possibly serve God in any capacity acceptably. On the other hand, a believer can be proud of their fleshly capabilities, their personality and charisma, and feel as though they can do any work for God in their own strength.
Can we use our lack of ability as an excuse for not allowing our Lord to use us, forgetting that God enables those whom He directs to serve Him? Or do we just find it easy to trust in our own strength and ability rather than depending completely on God's enabling grace? The correct spiritual position is the one clearly set forth in the Word of God. In John 15:5, our Lord states, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (KJV) With that Bible truth in mind, we will then graduate to experience the enabling power of God, as given to us in Philippians 4:13, where we see, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (KJV)
Joey Durham is pastor at Open Bible Baptist Church at 180 Old Manning Road in Sumter. You can contact Pastor Durham at durham.joey@yahoo.com or call the church office at (803) 481-9315.