Self-Sufficient or God-Sufficient?

 

By Andrea Merrell

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves 

to think anything as of ourselves, 

but our sufficiency is of God. 

2 Corinthians 3:5 KJV

“Grow up. Put on your big-girl panties. You gotta pull yourself up by your own boot straps.”

I’ve heard it all—all my life as a matter of fact. We’re erroneously taught that we must do everything on our own because no one is going to do it for us. So we try and try and try again. When our human strength runs out, we feel defeated and want to quit.

The truth is God never intended for us to live that way. In fact, Jesus said in John 15:5, “Without me, you can do nothing” (KJV). He told the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV). That’s why Paul was able to say, “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13 KJV). Why? Because of Christ’s strength. His power. His sufficiency—not our own.

The world sees our dependency on the Lord as weakness, but Jesus said His strength is made perfect in our weakness. 

This journey through life can be a rough road at times, but God has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3 NKJV). That means we have everything we need.

So … self-sufficient or God-sufficient. His way is always better, but it’s a choice. Which way will you choose?

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and tuelekza.