No king is saved by the great size and power of his army; a mighty man is not delivered by [his] much strength. – Psalm 33:16, AMP

One of the greatest challenges we Christians face is understanding how futile our efforts are when we try to accomplish God’s work with human strength. I’ve heard countless stories of pastors, missionaries, and other Christian saints who for years saw no fruit from their efforts until, one day, they realized that they weren’t tapping into God’s strength to get the job done. Once they got out of the way and let God do His work, the work blossomed.

Moses provides us with a great example of how human failure can be turned into divine success when human strength is replaced with heavenly power. In Acts 7:23-25 (KJV), we find Stephen speaking of Moses:

23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

At the age of forty, Moses already knew that God planned to use him to deliver the Hebrews from slavery. But, rather than waiting upon God to supply the proper strength at the proper time to achieve this feat, Moses strove to accomplish God’s work in his own strength and in his own timing. Despite being a prince and having the resources of Egypt at his disposal, Moses failed, and he fled his home both defeated and empty-handed. Years later, when Moses submitted to being a vessel through which God channeled His power, the freeing of the Hebrews became a reality.

Human resources, human timing, and human decision-making are of no effect in accomplishing the work God has for us. God must be the mastermind and the workman behind the work, for our natural ability has no power to achieve supernatural success. Does that mean our job is to do nothing? No. It does mean, however, that we should wait until God makes it clear to us what we are to do and when we are to do it. Then, when we get the green light to act, we need to act immediately and diligently, and when we do, we’ll humbly witness God work wonders through us.

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