Are you facing a task that seems too big for you?  Great!  Now you get to watch God work!  When our strength is small, God’s power is unleashed.  He gets the glory instead of us.  Here’s an example of God working that I’ve been watching for the past nine months.  About 30 families regularly attend our little country church.  The building is small even for our small group.  So several years ago preparations began to build an addition.   In June, the actual physical work began and Dear Husband was able to help until he got injured last Fall.  Fast forward nine months later. Now there are walls, windows, roof, electrical wiring, plumbing, and some insulation on our 4300 sqft addition.  The building has passed many rigorous inspections for a commercial level building.   Here’s the amazing part.  Nearly all the work has been done by a few men in the congregation as they were able.  One contractor helps on Saturdays when he can.  The rest are men of various occupational backgrounds who come as often as they can and do whatever they can.  Those who own equipment lend it freely.  The families in the church give generously.  Each phase is started when there is enough money donated to complete that phase.  No money has been borrowed.  One retired man heads up the work.  There is no pressure to work, but those who come enjoy camaraderie and satisfaction.  This is just one example that I have personally watched of God using a small number of people to accomplish something big.  It encourages me that although a task may outsize the workers, God can bring success.

It reminds me of the surprising story in the Old Testament of the victory set in motion by the faith and bravery of just two young men. Yep, it only took two!  They single-handedly attacked the outpost of a large army.  When God saw their faith, he stepped in and routed the entire army with confusion and an earthquake.

“Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”
 “Do what you think is best,” the armor bearer replied. “I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.”
 “All right, then,” Jonathan told him. “We will cross over and let them see us. If they say to us, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you,’ then we will stop and not go up to them.  But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight,’ then we will go up. That will be the Lord’s sign that he will help us defeat them.”
 When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!”  Then the men from the outpost shouted to Jonathan, “Come on up here, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”
“Come on, climb right behind me,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “for the Lord will help us defeat them!”
 So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them.  They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre.  Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God. . .  Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. . . So on that day, the Lord saved Israel. ” 1 Samuel 14:6-15, 20,26

“Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”  1 Samuel 14:6

Are you facing a task that seems too big for you?  Great!  Now you get to watch God work!  When our strength is small, God’s power is unleashed.  He gets the glory instead of us.  Think of how real people in the Bible overcame great odds with God’s power.
Abraham’s 318 men defeated four kings and their armies.
Gideon’s tiny army of 300 defeated 135,000 invading soldiers!
Teenaged David killed the battle-hardened giant, Goliath, with an inferior weapon.
Twelve scared disciples of Jesus changed the course of history.
Paul and a few associates evangelized the Middle East, Greece, and Rome.  From these strategic locations, the story of Jesus was spread across the globe by ordinary people.  During his ministry, Paul suffered from a physical malady, but God didn’t heal him.  Instead, God had a plan.

“Each time [Paul asked for healing] he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

What excuse are you hiding behind instead of doing the hard thing? What good work should you do, but you’re stuck by your limiting beliefs?
I’m too old.  I’m too young.
I’m in bad health.
I’m not educated enough.  
I don’t have enough resources.
I don’t have much influence.  

Congratulations!  Those excuses only mean that you’re a great candidate for God to use you!  He chose you to do his work so the glory doesn’t go to you.  It’ll be obvious that God enabled you to succeed, not your own ability or resources.

“As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” (Isaiah 29:14)
“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. . . Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”  (Jeremiah 9:24)
 1 Corinthians 1:19, 26-29, 31

Are you and I willing to tackle this week something that is too big for us, but not for God?

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