November 4

Morning

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. — 2 Cor 12:9 BSB

A key requirement for serving God successfully and doing His work well is realizing your own weakness.

When a Christian warrior goes into battle, confident in their own strength, boasting, “I know I’ll win! My own arm and sword will give me victory!” they are not far from defeat. God will not fight alongside someone who marches in their own strength. If you rely on your own power, you’re mistaken, because “it is not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” Those who boast of their abilities will return with their banners dragging in the dirt and their armor stained with shame.

Those who serve God must do so in His strength, or He will not accept their service. God will never acknowledge someone working without divine help. Earthly efforts alone are discarded; He only gathers the harvest that was sown by heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by His love. God will empty you of all you have before He fills you with what He has. He will clean out your storehouses before filling them with the finest grain. The river of God is full of water, but not one drop comes from earthly sources. God will allow no strength in His battles except what He supplies.

Are you feeling your own weakness? Take heart, because recognizing your weakness is the first step toward receiving God’s victory. Your emptiness is just preparation for being filled, and your being brought low is setting the stage for your lifting up.

Evening

For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. — Ps 36:9 BSB

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven!” Matthew 16:17

No one can truly communicate the love of Christ to another until Jesus Himself speaks within them. Descriptions fall flat and lifeless unless the Holy Spirit fills them with power. Until our Immanuel reveals Himself within, the soul cannot fully see Him. Just as the sun can only be seen by its own light, so it is with Christ.

You can purify your heart by any method you choose; you can elevate your mind to the highest intellectual level, but none of that will reveal Christ to your soul. The Spirit of God must come with power, and then in that holy, hidden place within, the Lord Jesus will show Himself to your eyes in a way that unbelievers cannot see. Christ must be His own mirror!

The majority of this world, with its blurred vision, can’t see the indescribable beauty of Immanuel. He stands before them as someone without beauty or appeal, a root out of dry ground, rejected by the vain and despised by the proud.

Only when the Spirit touches a person’s eyes with divine salve, brings their heart to life, and gives them a taste for heavenly things, is Jesus truly known.

“To you who believe, He is precious!” To you, He is the cornerstone, the foundation of your salvation, your everything. But to others, He is “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” Blessed are those to whom Jesus reveals Himself, for He promises to make His home with them.

O Jesus, show Yourself to me now! Give me a glimpse of Your all-conquering beauty!