Whenever the Israelites were strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them. (Joshua 17:13)
I stood in front of seventy white garbed pastors in Ponneri, India, and my typed message shook in my hand. On the right side of the sanctuary, their wives reverently covered their heads, dressed with the colors in a jellybean jar. I wrestled as the Spirit urged me to abandon my prepared notes.
Then I asked all the pastors to turn in their Bibles to Luke. “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”
Our team later discovered a spirit of pride had been lurking among the Ponneri pastors. As shocked as they were by my confession, God used it to show them that they, too, needed to crawl before the throne and beg for mercy.
Arrogance fled the room, and the Holy Spirit manifested in the Indian practice of power clapping. They pushed all their worship through their hands in frantic applause. At the height of the holy din, the walls opened up and our enthusiasm melded into the larger praise in heaven.
The Israelites were unable to destroy the sinful Canaanites that formerly occupied their land. The next best thing was to force them into servitude. Try as I might, I’ve been unable to destroy my sinfulness. I have no option but to beg for mercy. But once my failure is moved to the cross, I can force it to further labor for God’s glory.
When I confess the secret of my own insurrection, others see that I survive because of grace alone. Like the Israelites, I can use my mistakes to carry the water of hope to thirsty souls so they, too, can receive Christ’s pardon.
Prayer: Holy One, use my weakness to show your strength.