I Can't Do It!

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ"

This was part of my devotions this morning and as I read it a few things stuck out to me, so I thought I'd share. (Note: this is without going to any commentaries or doing any kind of study like that, just my initial thoughts)

1.) We are not worthy - The call on our lives is too big for any of us to handle. That word call makes us think of a call to ministry or a specific call on our lives, which is applicable here, but I think it could also mean simply the call of a Christian to walk in the way of Christ. We are not worthy nor can we muster up the strength needed in order to fulfill that call. On our own. So when we look at the call of God to holiness and righteousness, or when we are about to face a challenge that the Lord has called us into we don't take a deep breath, hike up our britches, lower our shoulder and march in. We start with admitting - I CAN'T DO THIS!

2.) It's a process - This prayer seems to be a continual prayer over the Thessalonians and the language implies that they are being made worthy.

3.) It takes work and effort on our part - Now some may say this contradicts #1, but I don't think so. The realization of I'm not worthy shouldn't lead us to a defeated position but rather lead us to a cry for the Lords help. But Paul then mentions two things that Gods going to fulfill: 1 - every resolve for good and 2 - every work of faith. Those are both actions on our part. Now without Him stepping in any resolution or work that we do is going to be impossible. Actually let me correct that, every resolution we make and every work of faith we attempt should be impossible without Him stepping in. We need to start aiming high, we need to start taking steps of faith that lead us in a direction where we are going to fail unless He steps in.

4.) Its purpose is so that He gets glory - "So that" implies the purpose of it all - "the name of the Lord might be glorified in you, and you in him." So not only does He receive glory but because we are in Him we do as well.

Just a few thoughts over my morning coffee.