I'm Not Able

¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the bodyand the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ ButGod, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:1-10

Too much repining can get me riled up. Especially when I run across garbage like this. Call me negative if you want, but surely I’m not the only one who is sick of hearing all of this “Believe in Yourself, You can achieve anything” self-talk, mumbo jumbo garbage. Really, do you truly want to put faith in your own ablities? The King of the Universe, he who breathed and the world came to be- do you really think you have anything to offer him?Scripture tells us that man is dead in his sin. What then, does a dead man have to offer a king?

Absolutely nothing.

I, who am inherently sinful, self-seeking, and evil at the very core of my soul, don’t have anything to give this man named Jesus. Not my time, which I frequently squander. Not my words, which are often wrong, arrogant, or judgmental. Not even my talents, which are few and flawed at best compared to the immeasurable power of Almighty God. When you strip it all away, I am nothing more than a lifeless slave to the passions of this world.

But Christ offers me a resurrection. He willingly gives regeneration to those who recognize they have nothing good within them. Its a priceless gift, one this wrecked and ravaged sinner could never afford.

So I don’t want to believe in myself, because who I am is worthless. I want to believe in the gift I’ve been given, in the power that lies within me through the gift of the Spirit of God.

I certainly have nothing to give.