But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:7)
A CALIFORNIA MAN placed a winning bid of one thousand dollars on the contents of an abandoned storage unit, without knowing what it actually contained. Upon examination of his acquisition, he discovered rare coins and gold and silver bars valued at five hundred thousand dollars. He was amazed that the treasure wasn’t found in a safe or a strong box, but in an ordinary blue plastic container.
God places His greatest treasure—the gospel and glory of Jesus Christ—in ordinary believers like you and me. Mortal bodies susceptible to wounds and bruises, disease and death. God chooses “the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27).
The apostle Paul has been called the greatest missionary-evangelist of all time, yet he shared the gospel with the Corinthians “in weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). Weakness doesn’t hinder the success of the gospel. It is the power of the Holy Spirit working through frailty that brings people to Christ. In this way, men and women don’t receive the glory and praise for a person’s salvation; God does.
If you feel inadequate to share the gospel, then know this: you are exactly the person God has chosen to build His kingdom. Submit your weakness to the Lord and show the world His “all-surpassing power.”
Praise God for any weakness you feel in serving Him, and ask for His strength.
Nancy Reinke lives in the Colorado Rockies with her artist husband. She enjoys writing, hiking, grandmothering, and encouraging others.
