Sufficiency part 4
I started this Rant series with the memory verse 2 Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." And my point has been that we are "self"-sufficient only when we find everything we need in Him. Which means we find it in each other. Because the Lord works in mysterious ways... because the Lord works through people. And, listen, I'm not saying you should depend on someone else--anyone else--for your happiness. People can make you happy. Yes. But that's not exactly the same thing. It puts a lot of pressure on someone else when you tie your happiness to them. Because sometimes that person that makes you happy... won't. People are people, not robots. They won't always do what they've done before, or what you expect them to do or want them to do. I went back to our key verse for this Rant series because I want to add the preceeding verse to it: "And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward" (2 Corinthians 3:4). Our trust isn't in other people, even though God works through people. Our trust is THROUGH Christ TO God. I've preached and Ranted on this topic a lot. Faith, right? Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. Which is Jesus. Which is love. Faith comes from hearing that still, small voice deep inside of us that says "I love you" with every beat of God's heart in our chests. Faith comes from us hitching our wagon to Jesus, if I can say it that way. If we have enough faith to just trust in Him... HIS faith makes everything else happen. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Because it's really HIS faith. It's all about Jesus, right? He is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning, the end, and everything in between. His death was our death. His life is our life. Jesus is our true identity. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. We have everything we need... because we have Jesus, and He IS everything we need. God is the provider, right? Before He made cows He made grass for cows to eat. He has never required something from us that He has not first provided to us. We love... because He first loved us. That's how all of this works. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. Our heavenly Father is the Father of lights. Because we are the light of the world. He has shined His light on us, and into us, and that's why (and how) it shines out of us! Not that we are shining on our own... but our light comes from Him. When we stop trying to do everything ourselves, that's when God has the room and the opportunity to get involved. When we depend on Him, that's when He does what He wants to do. And I'm not saying God won't do what He wants to do regardless. I'm simply saying we can make things a lot easier on ourselves by just letting go and letting God. By depending on Him instead of on ourselves. By letting Him take care of. Letting Him take care of us through people. Building those connections and relationships so that we don't have to depend only on ourselves. We're all in this together. And that's a give AND a take. Helping people and letting them help us. Learning and growing and going... together!