“If any man ministers, let it be done with the strength that God supplies,
so that in all things God might be glorified through Jesus Christ”
1Peter 4:11
I remember my father many times making the observation that everything Jesus told his disciples to do, they could not do. Hearing this, my mind would race through the gospel stories to see if I could find any commandment that Jesus gave his disciples that, in their own power and wisdom, they could do, and I would always come up empty.
Then, why did Jesus tell them to do those things? The answer is simple. When God gives a command, He creates the ability to obey it. When Jesus sent his disciples out, he said, “As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick; cleanse the leapers; cast out demons. Freely you’ve received; freely give” (Mt. 10:7–8). They could not do that! But with the Lord’s command for them to do it came the power to obey his command, and they fanned out across Israel, performing miracles everywhere. When he gave them his new commandment to love one another as he had loved them, they could not do it! It was not possible for humans to love as he did. But, not long after that command was given, the holy Ghost came from heaven and filled those disciples with the kind of love Jesus had (Rom. 5:5), and they were created as “new creatures in Christ”, fully able to love one another as Jesus had loved them.
Don’t be afraid of what God may ask you to do. If He asks you to do anything, He will always provide you with the power to do it. He will not fail you, so that you will not fail Him.
