When Ready Isn't Enough

It’s a reminder I needed for the week.

The Lord knew, of course.

My calendar is full.

My to-do-list long.

My upcoming weekend scheduled with important Kingdom-work.

I have prepared.

I’ve studied.

Put forth effort.

I have all the needed information.

I’m passionate about what’s sitting in front of me.

And, somewhere in all that preparation, I begin to think, “I’m capable.”

“I’m ready.”

Then, my Lord brings to mind a verse that’s gotten buried.

Oh, it’s familiar.

It just hasn’t risen to the surface of all that’s bubbling up in my brain. 

And suddenly, it does exactly what God’s Word is intended to do—it goes to work on my heart.

“It’s not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of Hosts.

(Zechariah 4:6)

And just like that, all my preparation moves back into its proper place.

The list.

The study.

The capability.

The effort.

What I think about it.

How I feel about it.

None of it is wrong.

But none of it is enough…

And, I am humbled before the Lord.

Because, this one thing is certain:

Unless the breath of God’s Spirit breathes life into my doings, 

I can do nothing with lasting, eternal value. 

In and of myself I have no special ability.

Oh, I can have all the things…

The Psalmist calls them “horses and chariots.”

Preparation.

Experience.

Knowledge.

Ability.

Resources.

All good things.

But terrible things in which to place my trust.

My confidence cannot rest in the WHAT I bring to the Kingdom work before me.

It must rest in the WHO who called me to it.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.

(Psalm 20:7)

So, before I tackle the calendar…

Before I check off the list…

Before I step into the Kingdom work He has given me to do…

One more thing needs to happen.

I bow the knee and pray:

Lord, breathe Your Spirit into all that I have prepared.

Because it is not by my might.

Not by my power.

But by Your Spirit.

And…That’s just a thought!