Don't try too hard...
Who would have known that in 2020 we would find ourselves in the thick of a global pandemic that no one understands? Or that the world could actually stop and people would be locked down in their homes? Or that the virus would cause other layers of suffering? Or that we would have to learn a new normal? With the way things are, it is easy to live a life of anxiety 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.But brothers and sisters, I've got good news to share with you in these times. There are three things God is able to do: God can "keep you from stumbling," God can "present you faultless," and God can bless you "with exceeding joy."
We live and operate in a world filled with stumbling blocks: uncertainty, trials, personal mistakes, temptations, opposition, burnout, abuse, sin, and the resulting guilt and shame that comes with such stumbling blocks. Therefore, we exert much effort trying to stop ourselves from stumbling or falling. We even become afraid to do things for fear of failure. We take on the burden of trying to keep our lives in order, our reputations clean, our images great, and our names good.
The truth is that this quest of ours is tiring, if not outright impossible. We are unable to keep ourselves from falling, no matter how much we try. And we end up disillusioned and bitter - because we are doing a job that is not ours, that we are not even qualified to do.
Only God can keep us from stumbling and present us as faultless. This is a work that Christ was and is qualified for - he is "able" to do it. The Greek word for "able" is dunamai which can also be translated as "powerful." God is the one who "has the power" to keep you from stumbling for he is the mighty God and the upholder of all things.
Which means you can go ahead and do a new thing! Go ahead and obey God's purpose! Go ahead and fulfil God's call upon your life! Because God is able to keep you from stumbling and to bring His work to completion through you. It's not about you anyway - it never was. It has always been about what God is doing -- through you.
So take courage, God is able.
| To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude1:24-25) |
Lydia Neshangwe is wife to Paul, mother to TC and Melusi, and minister to St Andrew's congregation in Bulawayo.
