When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Does this scripture give you comfort or pressure?
Me? I see comfort.
I don’t have to be perfect to be significant. In fact, I can be most effective in my weakness. Ultimately, this thought is what started the whole faith talk this week. If you want to hear my preacher-man speak his heart in truth listen here.
The apostle Paul who single handedly spread the gospel halfway around the world calls himself:
- unsophisticated
- foolish
- uneducated
- afraid
Who am I to think that I need to be something that I’m not in order to do the work of Christ?
vs 5: so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power
Faith relies on God’s power not my wise or funny words.
I find comfort there today. How about you?
How can we pray for each other in our faith walks this weekend? Please leave a comment with your prayer request.
Oh girl, weakness and fear describe me! It has been of tremendous comfort for me to know that this is the kind of person God takes, accepts, and manifests Himself through.
Shane, this really speaks volumes today. I have been looking to others to help me when I should seek God and come to God with all that is ailing my heart & soul these days. Other people can be great support but not when you are missing the most important piece: Faith/God. Thanks.
If everything were based on our abilities and not God’s power I would be afraid of everything, most of all sharing my faith. Today God pushed me from a radio program and inspired me to talk to my Mom’s gardener. I had just put my kids to nap at her house and I went out to talk to him. He shared a ton -how he had almost believed in Jesus, but he had given up on a higher power…he actually started crying and I couldn’t believe it. It was as if he was just dying talk to someone. (Thanks for this awesome experience God!) He is homeless and mostly I listened, my little input to the conversation was far from impressive. I said what I could think of – that I believed in Jesus and that Jesus loved him and how this previous fall Christ really pulled me to Him. Overall though if you had to rank my “Sale of Faith” it was very low. But I wasn’t discouraged exactly because of what you highlighted above. “so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” I may have sounded like an idiot – but I’m not the soul winner, persuasive speaker, or product demonstrator – I’m simply a happy customer sharing my experience. It’s all in God’s hands to do the actual work. My prayer request is that Jesus gives him some hope and continues to pull Him back to Christ’s Grace.
What an amazing experience. Good job following His call Nicole! It’s all about HIM!
Comfort. Definitely!
I am so glad nothing depends on me. But sometimes I forget that Truth – and that’s when I start to get stressed. “I can’t do this.” “I don’t know what to do.” “I’ll never pull this one off!”
Oh, silly me.
God’s power – not my wisdom – is what matters!
Jesus Christ and him crucified. That’s it. We get that down in our hearts and through our lives, then we, like the apostle Paul, are further down the road than we think.
Have a great start to your week. I’ve got another busy one ahead, but am confident that God will give me his rest and peace as I go. Praying the same for you…
peace~elaine