Fully willing, fully able
With the wind on my face and the warmth of the sun, with notes of a birdsong trilling here and there, it was His voice I heard. “Can you give this up?” He said, putting His finger on a certain habit. “It’s become too important to you.”
Knowing by now that His voice always brings peace and never condemnation, I listened up. “Goodness, Lord. I do love that, and I’m not sure I can do it.”
There it came. “Fully willing. Fully able.”
On my own, in my flesh, I wasn’t either one of those. I wasn’t very willing, and I certainly wasn’t able. How…?
Then this morning, He addressed it again. It came through Paul’s words to the Ephesians: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
“What blessings are you in need of today?” Again, the voice brought peace. And so I began to write, spelling it out in words that scrolled across the page, listing exactly which spiritual blessings I am needing. Line after line, enumerating my human frailty and lack and insufficiency.
And once more He spoke. “Now hear this: you have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ. Every spiritual grace you need has already been given to you! Yours it is, now, to receive.
“You’ve been adopted, forgiven, redeemed, and lavished with the riches of My grace, along with all the wisdom and understanding you need. Furthermore, daughter, you’ve been marked by the Holy Spirit, fully included in Christ.
“Lastly, I want you to know that the incomparably great power that raised Christ from the dead is available to those who believe. That’s you.
“You have all you need. Receive it.”
Praise be! Because of Him, because of His Spirit, because He’s already lavished us with every spiritual blessing we need, and because He’s filled us with the ‘incomparably great power’ that raised Christ from the dead, we can be fully willing (He works it in us) and fully able to obey.
Fully willing, fully able because of His great power.