A Gift from God

God packages His answer to a troubling problem in an unexpected way.

By Karen Barrett

There’s something special about an unexpected gift. Have you ever received a package in the mail that you were not anticipating? That happens occasionally at our house. Though my children consider themselves fairly mature, they aren’t above a display of curiosity when the mail carrier delivers a parcel. Typically, they bombard me with questions like, “Who’s it from, Mom?” and “What is it?” I have to encourage them to hold their curiosity in check until the wrappings are undone and the contents revealed.

While the unanticipated gifts that have come our way were appreciated and brought pleasure for the moment, the specifics regarding most of them have faded from my mind. But one unexpected gift that I received awhile back remains vividly in my memory, and I trust that it will forever. You see, this was a gift from God.

Let me explain. I had been wrestling with a problem that was causing me a great deal of concern. I had prayed about it, struggled with how to handle it, attempted to correct the situation, . . . in short, I had done everything I knew to resolve it. Unfortunately, my efforts brought no lasting improvement. One day during my lunch hour, I went down to our office chapel and poured out my frustration to God. I told Him, “I just can’t do it. I’ve tried and failed. It’s simply not in me.”

Those words must have been what God was waiting for, because suddenly and unexpectedly, His quiet presence was with me in the chapel. As clearly as if He had spoken aloud, the words came, “You can, because Christ is in you.” Just seven words, but as I realized in awe that God himself was speaking to me, it was like a veil rolled away from my spiritual eyesight. In that moment, I comprehended, in a new and vital way, a beautiful truth I had heard all my life: “Not I, but Christ.”

A beautiful truth unveiled

I “unwrapped” a priceless gift that day. It almost seemed that I was pulling back layer after layer as new dimensions of understanding surfaced. Bible verses I had known from childhood began to flow through my mind, but over and above them all came the words of the Apostle Paul, “When it pleased God . . . to reveal his Son in me. . . .” I could see clearly that God had been in my life from the moment of my salvation, but suddenly I felt that He was truly “revealed.”

I began to understand that I had limited His ability to work by trying, in my own strength, to do what should have been turned over to Him. I was not willfully resisting Him, but He helped me to see that when we endeavor to find a solution through our own efforts or willpower, we are unable to trust God’s way of deliverance. We, in effect, tie His hands. Since God will not act in violation of our will, He waits patiently until the moment we give up and acknowledge that God alone is able. Only then, can He begin to work out His solution to our problem.

I suppose one of the first Sunday school memory verses I ever learned was Paul’s words, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). While I could roll the words off my tongue, I hadn’t fully understood them. My “gift” from God helped me see that He wants us to be weak—dependent upon Him—because through that weakness His power is gloriously displayed to us and to those around us.

A day-by-day process

God has amplified and built on the concept of “Not I, but Christ” in my life during the months since that day in the chapel. I studied and memorized the entire verse where that short phrase is found: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). One point that emerged clearly was that this is not merely a hope, but a way of living. It is not simply a goal to be attained, but rather a day-by-day process.

Yes, there is a starting point. Paul says “I am crucified. . . .” I know there was a moment in my life when I told the Lord that I wanted to die to self, that I was willing to present myself as a “living sacrifice” to Him. That was a definite transaction with God. What I hadn’t understood was how to put this “Christ in me” into practice. He helped me to see that just as He was my substitute in death, He is willing to be my substitute in life. However, I need to acknowledge His presence and power, and allow Him to handle each situation, each time of weakness, each stressful event, and each perplexing problem. I must no longer attempt to deal with them on my own.

Little by little, the Lord began showing me how this works in daily life. One of the first lessons came when I faced a situation that I recognized could cause resentment to spring up in my heart, if I attempted to deal with it on my own. Instead, I went to the Lord. I reminded Him that He had shown me He was living in me, and simply asked Him to respond for me. To my amazement, the distress that was hovering near my mental door, ready to flood in, simply dissipated. There was no particular struggle, no lingering bad feeling. I have to confess that when I finally realized the distress had just drifted away, I was almost surprised.

A true miracle

Some time later, while in prayer one night, I felt God impressing on my spirit that I needed to pray for a certain person—a person I knew only slightly, but whose actions were hurting me deeply. I consented rather half-heartedly, and prayed briefly. Instantly, though, the Lord let me know that this was not exactly what He had in mind! The instruction was clear: I was to pray for this person with the same fervor and love that I pray for my own children. I knew that was impossible were I to attempt it in my own strength. The lesson was sinking in, and this time it did not take as long for me to confess my inadequacy. I told the Lord, “I am willing to be a channel of Your love, but I cannot do this myself. You will have to do it through me.” What happened next was truly a miracle! A deep feeling of love began to surge into my heart, and within moments, I felt tears on my cheeks as I cried out to God for this person’s salvation. From that day onward, my attitude toward that person has been totally revolutionized.

Through these, and numbers of other incidents, the point began to emerge: When trials come, the way to handle them is to say, “Lord, this is Your business, not mine.” Just as I had accepted my salvation by faith, I now began learning to live by faith, through saying, “I believe that You can triumph in this circumstance. I know that I cannot, but You are living in me, and You are well able.”

Yes, it takes practice. Yes, I have to be reminded from time to time. More often than I’d like to admit, I’ve reverted back to trying to work out problems on my own. After all, I had been reinforcing that method for many years! Thankfully, God patiently reminds me, “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5), and then sends object lessons to bring the point home to me.

God is able

In addition to the day-by-day situations that arise, God has broadened my understanding to see that “Christ in me” is well able to deal with the major issues related to my walk with Him. He is able to keep me from falling (Jude 24, 25), to present me holy, unblameable and unreprovable in His sight (Colossians 1:22), and to do exceeding abundantly more than I can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Can I accomplish any of these things in my own strength? Most assuredly not. But what confidence I find in knowing that the One who dwells in me will accomplish them for me! In Him I can truly be “more than [a] conqueror.”

God’s lessons are always on time. In the past few months, there have been both major milestones and massive upheavals in my life. I’ve had to face circumstances that I never anticipated. But over and over again, God has reminded me, “You can, because Christ is in you.” There is strength for a new spiritual assignment. There is grace to walk through a family crisis. There is power to face the future with the knowledge that God’s promises are sure.

Thank You, God, for my unexpected gift.

Karen Barrett is Office Manager at the Apostolic Faith Church International Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.