God Within: Power in Weakness - Denise Pass
Inspirational Thought of the Day:
By choosing weak vessels to inhabit, God makes the weak strong.
Scripture of the Day:
2 Corinthians 4:7
“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.”
How is it that we can have the Most Holy God of this universe within our fleshly bodies? Is it a spiritual saying or a reality? If God is, in fact, capable of being within mankind, what does this mean for the capabilities of man? What is the purpose?
Every inclination of our hearts is wicked and deceitful, except for the grace of God. I can hear some saying that is extreme, but it is only God’s word describing our state before a Holy God. Each of us is capable of the greatest depravity, and yet our perfect God wants to know us. This, my friends, is miraculous grace. But more than just know us, how is it that a perfect God would choose to dwell in such a place?
Our all-knowing God knew we could never fulfill the righteous demands of His perfect law. He knew that we were in a desperate place. Just having a religion to believe in could never change our hearts. We needed God to fill us with Himself to help us to see.
The King of kings chooses a crude, humble substance to dwell within – simple clay vessels. How like our humble King. By choosing weak vessels to inhabit, God makes the weak strong. Clay is an interesting substance to liken man to. Originally made from the dust of the earth, clay seems an appropriate description of our composition. But clay is composed of more than just dirt. The weathering process upon dirt combines it with minerals, plant life and other materials to form a moldable substance that hardens. Sure sounds like us. This life “weathers us” and we can become hardened through troubles or let God use them to make us like Him. Like a lump of clay, though, as we allow the Master to mold us to get rid of the parts of us that hinder His holiness, He fill us with Himself to enable us to live for Him.
We don’t deserve His abundant life within us, but His presence within us is not for our own glory. His power is made evident to the world when people see ordinary people doing extraordinary things, or prideful man seeking to be a humble servant like His Maker. To man, power is a demonstration of our strength from a place of pride. God’s power is demonstrated, though, through weak vessels from a place of chosen humility. God’s power within us is not so man can become great, but so the world can see God’s power within us and know this same great God.
Lord, may we decrease so that You may increase in us! Help us to reflect Your glory to this wounded world. May they see that You are real and living within us, so that many will come and receive Your love and mercy.
