Word of Encouragement (7/30/2021)

The prayer we are reflecting on is, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent...” (1 Tim. 1:12-13). In our last meditation on this prayer, let us consider the first part: “I thank him who has given me strength....”

This is one of the reasons, for which Paul gives thanks to Christ. We can see why. As we have seen, it is a wonderful privilege to serve Christ. But a privilege can be too great for our own good. What is so great about getting a high-paying job if we are not competent enough to handle the work? It is devastating to feel out of place. It is even worse to be in a position of leadership and authority, for which we are hopelessly underqualified. That’s like sitting on a cushion of needles, as Koreans say.

Of course, when Paul thought about the eternal consequences of the gospel ministry, he exclaimed, “Who is adequate for these things” (2 Cor. 2:16)? But it’s not just the gospel ministry, is it? We can say the same thing about many things. Think about parenting. Do we know the full impact of what we say and do on our children? How devastating our outbursts of anger are to them? How damaging our insensitive, hurtful words are to their psyche? What about all our failures to establish good habits in their early years, which, they say, will affect them for the rest of their lives? Who is adequate for these things, indeed? We have also experienced how well things can be going in our relationships at one moment and, at the next, everything changes and spirals out of control because of one mindless mistake in word or deed. We realize how many of our relationships are so fragile and how much work and care they require. Unless we can trust that God is able to work all things together for His glory and our good, including our mistakes and sins, how can we go on?

Another comfort, which we have shared already, is that God covers all our deficiencies with the perfect righteousness of Christ. But there is an existential dimension. What would happen if our labors constantly result in failure? While it is a huge comfort that even our deficient works are made acceptable to God in Christ, we would experience much frustration. In this prayer, we learn that God is gracious enough to supply us with the strength we need to carry out the mission He has entrusted to us: “I thank him who has given me strength....” Essentially, Paul’s prayer is, “Command us what you will and give us what you command.” As finite creatures, that is what we need and that is what God has provided: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:30-31).

As we begin this day, let us give thanks in advance that the Lord would strengthen us to do the works He has prepared for us to do from the foundation of the world (Eph. 2:10). May we all experience God’s enabling grace throughout the day as we confess by faith, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13)!