"Why would anyone listen to me? I’m a late-30’s chick who hasn’t experienced everything in life, doesn’t have all the answers and can’t fix anyone." That’s what flashes through my mind anytime someone tells me that God has spoken to them through me. But isn’t that the coolest thing? I have Jesus living in me, and Jesus has been tried in every way, is the Way and can give new Life! It used to be that I’d avoid the really hard cases—the ones where I hadn’t a clue what to do. The funny thing was, I thought I knew what to do with the other ones! But of course, I had nothing in me that could meet someone’s needs, and I didn’t have the discernment to see through the spoken pain to the real one. I didn’t have that discernment not because I lacked anything in Christ, but because I was stiff-arming His Life as I performed (or tried to perform) in my own strength.
You see, if I do something, then I get to pat myself on the back for it. The flip side of that is that if I fail, I get to berate myself for that, too. But none of it was mine to carry.
Only in Jesus can people find rest for their souls and the true meeting of the needs they carry with them. Only in Him can they find the love and acceptance they desire and try to gain from everything around them. So, in the end, all I have to offer is Christ.
Some call me pretty dumb for that. Some mock. But if I’ve found the One who can do these emotional miracles in hurting lives, why would I look elsewhere for something that makes more “sense” to everybody else? Usually, we don’t like it because we can’t control it. And we definitely can’t control God. So, we want to explain it all away and find another method or program or rationale that will sort it out.
But I will instead relax in my foolishness, my weakness, my being despised, my lack. For in spite of these things, Christ is known and faith rests on Him and not me. I am not able to feel superior or wise or even that smart. For none of those things heal hearts. Jesus does.
And here’s the really cool thing—if you have Jesus’ Life in you as well, you aren’t limited to your foolishness, stupidity, weakness or anything else either. We have the same Jesus, and you can’t get any more of Him than you already have. You’ve got His wholeness.
So, if you ever look at yourself and wonder why anyone would listen to you or care that you show up or say something or pray, please remember that you bring Jesus. You are bringing the most precious gift and the most amazing Healer in His Life to each of those around you. So, press on—not because of your strength but because you rest in your weakness, knowing that His strength is made evident in the weak things of the world. You don’t have to have it all together—you just need Him.
Brothers and sisters, consider who you were when God called you to salvation. Not many of you were wise scholars by human standards, nor were many of you in positions of power. Not many of you were considered the elite when you answered God’s call. But God chose those whom the world considers foolish to shame those who think they are wise, and God chose the puny and powerless to shame the high and mighty. He chose the lowly, the laughable in the world’s eyes—nobodies—so that he would shame the somebodies. For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent, so that there would be no place for prideful boasting in God’s presence. For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption. And this fulfills what is written: If anyone boasts, let him only boast in all that the Lord has done! 1 Corinthians 1:26 -31