Willing Hands, God's Strength

"Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly..." Psalms 108:12-13a

Good morning, friends!

Have you ever found yourself looking at your present life, your present circumstances, and think to yourself,

"How did I get here?"

There have been times that I have said this in my shame.  I looked at my present circumstances, saw my sins and failures in my faithfulness in the "basics" of Christian life.  I found my faith failing and my Bible reading dry and my prayers few.  When I realized how far I had come from obeying God's truths, I looked back at amazement and shook my head.  How did I allow myself to get so far away from the Lord?

There are other times when I find myself shaking my head in disbelief. I am living in FRANCE!  My husband is a pastor.  I am a missionary wife.  How did this happen? How did the Lord see fit to equip and use me for the work He has called me to do here?

Speaking a foreign language on a daily basis.

Writing Bible lessons for kids and ladies.

Singing in front of the church.

Baking the communion bread for our service.

Fixing a meal for a large groups of people with relatively short notice...and being very calm about it.

Hosting missions groups from the U.S.

Writing and directing the camp "Christmas" play.

Playing the piano in a church service with my hands shaking so hard only the Lord got me through it (and feeling like I was going to throw up the entire time--don't laugh.  OK, you can laugh a little.)

During moments like the ones I mentioned above, I can honestly say that I had no qualifications or preparedness in ANY of those areas to make it a comfortable experience.  All I can say with any assurance is that there was a need, and I made myself available to the Lord to answer that need.

This works well in my life, as long as I remember that I am not the one who does anything.

My friend brought this verse in Psalms at the top of the blog to my remembrance this week.  This whole Psalm is the outpouring of David's heart to the Lord for help in distress.  David reminds the Lord of His promises to His people for help and deliverance, and he ends this passage with the thoughts:

"Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly..." (Psalms 108:12-13a)

How many times have I attempted to labor for the Lord in my own strength, only to see those attempts fail horribly?

How many times have I attempted to help others with the wrong attitude or wrong motivation?

How many times have I attempted to "get out of" a difficult trial or situation by my own reasoning or logic?

How many times do I forget that without Christ, "ye can do nothing?" (John 15:5)

"Vain is the help of man..."

BUT...

"Through God we shall do valiantly."

By relying on God through prayer, I can ask for physical strength, and He gives it willingly.

By relying on God through prayer, I can ask God to give me His love, so that I may serve others with the right attitude.

By relying on God through prayer, I can ask for wisdom, or grace, or patience, or faith, to persevere when life's challenges overwhelm me.

Will I choose today to rely upon my talents, my abilities, my thoughts, my ways?

Or will I choose to live "valiantly" and victoriously through Christ "who strengthens me?" (Philippians 4:13)

I pray, that I will choose the latter.