God's power and yours (Part 1)

The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"  Judges 6:14


Are you powerless as a Christian to accomplish God's will in your life?  Some think so.  Some read Jesus' words, "Abide in me and I in you; apart from me you can do nothing."  After they read this, they think Jesus means they are passively powerless without him.  This isn't true. 


What is true is this:
God expects us to use the power and resources that we have, and to trust Him for what we don't have.  We act by faith in the strength we have, and God supplies the strength we don't have. 


The scriptures bear witness to this in the stories of Moses, Gideon, and David.


MOSES
God asked Moses, "What is that in your hand?"  It was a staff.  God told Moses to throw down the staff, which became a serpent.  He then told Moses to pick up the serpent, which became a staff again. This wasn't a magic staff, but the same staff Moses had been using for possibly years as a shepherd.  Moses didn't use supernatural strength to throw down the staff, but his own natural strength to throw down a natural staff.  When Moses did what he could do with what he had, and with the strength he had, God did what Moses couldn't do in his own strength.  The same was true for Gideon.


GIDEON
God told Gideon in plain words, "Go in the strength that you have."  Gideon shouldn't use more strength than he had, but he also wasn't to use less strength than he had.  This matches the first and most important commandment, according to Jesus:


"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."


Take note:
with all YOUR heart
with all YOUR soul
with all YOUR mind
with all YOUR strength.


Yours, not mine nor anyone else's.  ALL of what you have, not some, not more, not less. 


God commands us in the same way He commanded Gideon.  His commands aren't a burden, as the apostle John said.  They aren't oppressive due to being more than we have the strength or resources to accomplish.  Finally, we see this with David in his fight with Goliath. (Click HERE for part 2)