Living in America often gave us the illusion that we controlled more of our life than we really did. That illusion is shattered here, however. In 2 Corinthians 2:1-5, Paul writes about a philosophy of missions and ministry that runs counter to our natural desires… “When I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
This is not a way of life that I naturally embrace. I want to come to the people here with excellence of speech and wisdom. I do not want to be here in weakness, fear, or trembling. I want to impress others with persuasive words of human wisdom, and my default mode is to place faith in my own abilities instead of in the power of God. However, I am gradually (and sometimes painfully) realizing that success here will depend far more on faithful and humble dependence than on any talent or ability I may think I have. When our limitations seem overpowering, and our presence here so insignificant, God is at work shifting the center of our confidence from what we think we can control to Him.
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