Finding God’s grace to do His will

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.  – Proverbs 23:7, nkjv

If you think you can’t, in all probability you cannot! Why? Long ago the wise man wrote a proverb, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, nkjv). When you convince yourself that you are doomed to failure, you don’t try. You are so certain that you can’t do it, that your unbelief and lack of confidence become self-fulfilling prophecies.

When there is a nagging doubt in your heart, and someone also says, “You’ll never do it,” you don’t try, and more things are lost by not trying than by not having the ability to make things happen.

The negative impulse, however, can be overcome by the persuasion that what you are striving to accomplish is God’s purpose for your life, and His strength will compensate for your weakness. What people accomplish when they do not know that something cannot be done is quite amazing. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul stresses that what he lacked became God’s provision – grace is what he called it, adding, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10, esv).

They simply do what they believe God has called them to do, and trust Him for what they lack, what they do not know, what they do not have the strength to do. Do you lack much? Then trust God much, for those who lack much know where their sufficiency comes from – not within but from above. When Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he was not making a boast of excelling above others, but simply finding God’s grace to do what He felt God wanted – a step at a time, a day at a time. Your weakness, friend, is God’s opportunity. Trust Him completely.

Used with permission from Guidelines International Ministries. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, send an e-mail to [email protected]. You may also visit www.guidelines.org.