It´s God´s Fault!

REFERENCE: 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Observation: How do we change? How do we come what we are supposed to be? Is it through trying harder, turning down the screws and "making" ourselves different? Paul says here that he is what he is by the grace of God. We can see that statement in two ways;

1.    When Paul needed to change, when we need to change, it is the grace of God (a gift from Him) that brings that change. So, instead of taking responsibility to make the change happen our job is to put our selves closer to the one who has the power to change us. It certainly involves our will. God wants to know that we really want to change, He never violates our will. Yet, our will is necessary, but far from sufficient. We need to look to Him, to lean on Him, for change.

2.    We are what we are because God has made us as we are. We may wish that we were more articulate, outgoing, or gifted but God knows what He is doing. Our call is to relax in what God has made us and to do what He has given us to do with our gifts.

Application/Confession: Paul´s statement "I am what I am by the grace of God" is, at once, a great comfort and a great source of distress. Comfort because I can realize that God does not expect more from me than what He has gifted me to do. That is far less than the expectations I put on myself. Distress because I want to be so much more!! I want to be more gifted. I want to accomplish so much more for God´s Kingdom and I have to realize that it is in God´s hands and not mine. That is frustrating but ultimately, if I can get my heart around it, totally freeing.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for what Your grace has made me. Teach me to live in that calling with great peace and joy. Help me to give up trying to be more than Your grace has made possible.