Beyond our Ability

Encounter:

Plan ahead to find a quiet space aware from distractions and meditate on 2 Corinthians chapter 1. Underline any words or phrases that shimmer or stick with you.

Each spring, I make a trip to the nursery stock auction to purchase flowers and plants for our greenhouse. It’s one of my favorite—and most exhausting—days of the season.

Before I ever arrive at the auction, there is preparation.

I make a budget. I walk through our greenhouse and assess what needs to be restocked. I think about what our customers will love most in the coming weeks. Then I arrive early to inspect the auction floor carefully.

Strategy matters—especially when you’re on a budget.

As the bidding begins, I’m constantly calculating:

• What is this plant worth?

• How high can I go?

• Will this sell well?

• How do I steward our resources wisely?

Hours of planning go into those decisions before the auction ever begins.

But honestly, the most important phone call I make has nothing to do with flowers.

It’s the call to the delivery driver.

Because if the driver doesn’t arrive—or if they are unavailable to transport everything I purchased—then all the planning, bidding, budgeting, and strategizing becomes meaningless.

Without the presence of the driver, the whole trip is wasted.

As I reflected on this week’s scriptures, I realized how much this mirrors the Christian life.

So often we focus on:

• strategy,

• planning,

• organization,

• goals,

• productivity,

• and preparation.

And those things matter.

But the church was never meant to run on human effort alone.

In Exodus, before God sends Israel forward, He gives them His Presence. He tells them to build a sanctuary so He may dwell among them.

In Matthew 28, Jesus sends the disciples into the nations—but not before promising:

“I am with you always.”

Then in Acts 1, after the Ascension, Jesus tells the disciples something surprising:

“Wait for the Gift…”

Before the mission came the Presence. Before the movement came the Spirit. Before the preaching came the praying.

And then we hear Paul’s deeply honest words in 2 Corinthians 1:

“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure…”

Paul reminds us that faithful people are not people who never struggle. Faithful people are people who learn dependence. The early church understood something we often forget: the mission of God cannot be sustained apart from the Spirit of God.

Sometimes we spend so much energy organizing our lives that we forget the most important thing: the Presence of God.

We strategize our schedules. We plan our ministries. We manage our families. We carry burdens quietly. We push harder.

But eventually we discover: without the Spirit of God carrying us, we cannot carry the mission of God.

The good news is this: Jesus did not ascend to abandon His people.

Through the Holy Spirit, Christ still comes near. Still strengthens. Still comforts. Still empowers ordinary people.

Perhaps many of us are spiritually exhausted not because we are doing the wrong things, but because we are trying to do holy things without abiding deeply in God’s Presence.

This Ascension season, maybe the invitation is simple:

Wait. Pray. Receive. Trust. Then go.

Because the Presence of God always comes before the Mission of God.

Waiting and praying with you in God's Presence,

Pastor T

Spiritual Practice for the Week

“Waiting in the Presence”

Set aside 5–10 minutes each day this week for a simple practice of stillness and surrender.

Find a quiet place. Sit comfortably. Take a slow deep breath.

As you breathe in, pray quietly:

“Come, Holy Spirit.”

As you breathe out, pray:

“I rely on You.”

Repeat this slowly several times.

Then simply remain in God’s Presence.

No striving. No performing. No fixing.

Just abiding.

If distractions arise, gently return to the prayer:

“Come, Holy Spirit.” “I rely on You.”

After a few moments, reflect:

• What burden have I been trying to carry alone?

• Where am I relying mostly on my own strength?

• What might it look like to wait upon God this week instead of rushing ahead?

Close by reading slowly:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” —2 Corinthians 1:3

Gather: Small Group Discussion Questions

1. What part of 2 Corinthians 1:3–11 stands out most to you personally right now?

2. Paul says he was “under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure.” Why is honesty about weakness important in the Christian life?

3. What is the difference between doing ministry/work/life in our own strength versus depending on God’s Spirit?

4. Why do you think Jesus told the disciples to wait before beginning their mission?

5. Describe a time when God met you in weakness, grief, uncertainty, or exhaustion.

6. How does prayer help prepare us for mission?

7. In what ways might our church need to focus more on Presence before productivity?

8. What does it mean practically to “wait for the Gift” in everyday life?

9. How can we become people who pass God’s comfort on to others?

10. This week, where is God inviting you to slow down, pray, and depend more deeply on Him?