For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV)
Oh, how these words ring true for me! The past few days I have been attempting to memorize Romans and the words in it remind me how foolish I am, how depraved, how weak, and how desperately lost I am without the saving power of Jesus Christ in my life. They remind me that I can NOT boast in myself, but only in the Lord. Yes, God has worked in me and has been changing me, but glory to God, that has nothing to do with my power OR even my will – but it is by God’s power and according to HIS will.
FOOLISH: I used to tell God that I couldn’t live without someone; I thought I could change myself; I tried to find loop-holes in the Word of God; I disobeyed my parents; And I sought the love and approval of man before God. [Because I did not see fit to acknowledge God (Rom. 1:28), He gave me up to dishonorable passions (1:26), to impurity (1:24), to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done (1:28) – in other words, He let me do what I wanted and it ruined me. But then he started working in me, breaking me, disciplining me for His glory because He loves me and has freed me from my sins by his blood (Rev. 1:5).] And though I am still foolish, God has revealed to me truth thought His Word – and in a way, I shame those who believe themselves to be wise – those who deny God’s existence and His power. I am proof of His existence and one of the countless examples of how God’s power changes people.
WEAK: The effects of my sin left me broken, lonely, depressed, despised, worthless – but it was what I wanted, right? No prayer I prayed or willpower I put into changing could ever accomplish anything. But God used my sorrow and brokenness to change me and to form me into a vessel of mercy he could use. “When God has a plan for an individual, He often begins with discipline in the form of affliction and sorrow. Just as a good farmer cuts down the trees and clears the land before planting, God cuts down our trees of pleasure and pride, that our hearts may be plowed, broken, raked, and prepared to receive the good seed of the Word.” (C.H. Spurgeon). I am thankful that God brought the sins in my life to light, those that I had tried so hard to keep in the darkness. I am glad he brought me so low that I had no choice but to fall on my knees. My flesh is still very weak, but that does not matter because “When I am weak, He is strong” (1 Cor. 4:10). Even Paul struggled with his weaknesses. He begged God multiple times to remove “the thorn in his flesh,” possibly a physical affliction. But God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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 Cor. 12:9-10).
LOW and DESPISED: I have definitely been low and despised, but I know that if I live for God, there is more to come. Especially if I am a TRUE Christian and live by what the Bible says, I know I will be despised and hated, even by some who claim to be Christians. But the more low and despised I am, the more God’s glory will be shown in me.
Therefore, because I am a fool, weak, low, and despised… I have nothing left to boast in other than my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and rightfully so. To all of you Christians who boast in yourselves, in your ministries, in numbers and figures of “souls saved”, in your successes, in anything other than the Lord, Shame on you. Because nothing succeeds without the Lord, and no one is saved unless God saves them, and you… well, YOU are less than NOTHING without Him. We live in an age where the god of self reigns supreme, where the creature is worshiped and served rather than the creator (Rom. 1:25), where we are encouraged to be empowered and believe in ourselves, and where so many people deny God the credit he deserves. We need to remember that we are nothing without God and that nothing happens because of our power, but because of HIS.
“To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Phil. 4:20).
Rachel Joy 