A few years ago God spoke this to me, “let me be supernatural.” I think sometimes as humans we are so focused on cultivating our own capability that we push God out of the way. We don’t realize we’re doing it; we think we’re called to handle things ourselves and be good little soldiers in God’s army, but we’ve missed it. We’re called to dependence, not capability. There is only one man who was ever capable of living the Christian life. His name is Jesus and He fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf, because we couldn’t do it (Romans 8:3-4).

But, if humans are anything we’re stubbornly persistent. We want to keep trying to do it on our own. “This time,” we tell ourselves, “I’m really going to buckle down. I’m going to be in the Word. I’m not going to let any angry words come out of my mouth. I’m going to think of others first and love everyone with God’s love. I can do it!”

That usually lasts all of a day or two, maybe even up to a week, and the longer it lasts the worse off we are because the more we’re convinced we can do it on our own. But where does that leave God? The creator of the Heavens and Earth who wants to live His life through us patiently stands on the sidelines where we’ve placed Him while we try to do it ourselves. He watches us fail time and time again, just waiting for the day we’ll give up and let Him come work through us.

“But that’s laziness!” we cry. “God doesn’t want a bunch of couch potato Christians!”

True, He doesn’t, but he doesn’t want a bunch of self-righteous ones who insist on proving their worth to Him either. Did we forget that our righteousness is as filthy rags? (Isaiah 64:6)

“Besides, what am I supposed to do? Just lie in my bed and wait until He supernaturally gets me out of bed, and supernaturally brushes my teeth, and makes my kids’ lunches?”

Valid question; and one I asked many times myself before I understood grace. But the thing is, you can’t reason out divine enablement. You can’t describe it, or tell someone else how it works. It wouldn’t be supernatural otherwise.

I can’t even remember how many times I’ve sat through a sermon with a charge to Christians to do something supernatural like love our neighbors as ourselves or not to go to sleep angry, and wondered why the preacher never told me how to do those things. It’s easy to tell someone what they need to do, but how do you get yourself to all of the sudden think of yourself less, or not get offended, or forgive?

Those preachers never give the answer because the only answer they know, is that they don’t know. The smart ones will at least tell you that you have to let God do it through you, but then they’ll usually muddle things by giving you a list of things to do in order to get God to do it. Or, the precursors you need to perform before He can work in or through you. Nothing like a little well-intentioned manipulation.

So what do we do if we’ve realized the futility of our own attempts and can’t figure out how to let God work in us? It’s not going to look the same in everyone, but start by asking God to show you how much He loves you. Ask Him to show you how to abide and rest in Him. He will be delighted to show you. It will be a process and you’ll continually discover new things that you haven’t given up completely to God, but it’s the most beautiful process you can imagine.

You’ll start to feel like God really does just want to spend time with you, and doesn’t want anything from you. And, at the same time, sometimes you’ll see that He’ll want to include you in something He’s doing. Not because He needs you, but because He loves you and He knows you’ll love it. After all, the only way to express the love of God to others, or forgive completely, or serve purely, is to let Him do it though you.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

His ways are beyond our ways and His thoughts beyond our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8), so “Let Him be supernatural.”