But by the
grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not
in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace
of God which was with me (1 Corinthians 15:10).
The Apostle
Paul in the verse above celebrates the grace of God that was upon his life.
From the human point of view, he never would have qualified to be an apostle.
Nonetheless, he became such an outstanding apostle who laboured for the Gospel
more than all the other apostles. He acknowledged the grace of God as the one
factor that made all the difference in his life.
It brings to mind the encounter between Gideon and the angel of the Lord in the sixth chapter of Judges. The angel appeared to him and said, “…The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour…Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” (Judges 6:12-14). Gideon, evaluating himself from the natural standpoint, didn’t believe he was a mighty man of valour; he considered the weak position of his family and said, “…Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15).
However, the
grace of God made all the difference in his life. God said to him, “Surely I
will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man” (Judges
6:16). Don’t look at your perceived physical inadequacies; trust in His
ability. All that Gideon needed was to believe God’s Word, and be confident in
God’s grace upon his life; thank God he eventually did, and as a result, he was
mightily used of God to accomplish the deliverance of Israel from the
Midianites.
God might
have impressed it in your heart to do something for Him, and contrary thoughts
may have been rising in your heart, making you feel you don’t have what it
takes. But you need to realize that you have already been granted grace in
superabundance (Romans 5:17). All you need do is to trust in God’s ability and
walk in the light of His grace.
