Only In Our Weakness...

Last Friday, I was asked to lead worship. Was slightly apprehensive about it, not only because I hadn't done it for more than four months since leaving my former ministry and community, but also because I cannot speak straight Filipino without sounding like a declamation contestant, much less pray purely in Tagalog. Earlier that day, I also was asked to do the Bible "feeding" before lunch, but because of my inarticulate-ness, I begged to say just a short prayer in (very mangled) Tagalog instead. Worse, I had to prepare a little exhortation prior to musical worship, also in the vernacular. To top it all off, a fellow volunteer slash instrumentalist received the last-minute commission to accompany me on the keyboards and he was unfamiliar with some of the songs I wanted to use. And if that wasn't enough of a challenge, I had to very quickly prepare cardboard idiot boards (no such thing as LCDs or overhead projectors at our little shelter!) to guide the evening's worshippers. All this while dealing with dinner, ringing phones, a couple of hungry streetkids, and the promise to attend a community prayer meeting elsewhere. But amidst all this stress, I of course was blessed.

One of the most important things I have learned on this walk is to give God room to do His work. How else would He be glorified if we did all the work and made perfect all our efforts? Once upon a time, someone attempted to convince me that long, detailed, well-thought out preparation was required to do God's will "perfectly." Unfortunately, we rarely have that luxury, and if we indeed rely entirely on our human efforts and talents to produce a flawless endeavor, then any success would be attributable entirely to ourselves, without giving God any credit or the opportunity to take center stage. Indeed, "not to us O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give the glory!" (Psalm 115:1)

And thus "do your best, and God will do the rest." No need for absolute perfection on our part, as that would be simply impossible to accomplish, for God does not call the qualified - He qualifies the called. More importantly, in our weakness does His power and strength make itself fully perfect(cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9).

That evening, I'd never praised so fluently in Filipino, switching back and forth to straight English as I allowed the Spirit to lead. I'd never had as much confidence in a shaky instrumentalist or risen above the sharps and flats of the accompaniment without so much as the slightest cringe. In all this, all the glory was His, as we allowed our weaknesses to be augmented by His great power. And that evening, He was not only worshipped as He ought to be, but He was also glorified tremendously as He Himself shone forth over and beyond mortal weakness with His magnificent beauty and saving strength.

So many more things to be said about His unbelievably immeasurable Grace, but I'll save them for later. God is great, and He is so very, very good!