1 Corinthians 2: 1-5
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testify of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in far and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Wow, how humbling. This is Paul speaking, the brilliant scholar, man who met Jesus in person, missionary to thousands... and he witnessed to the people not in power or intellect, but in weakness. Paul's goal was not to gain fame as a great missionary, or to have the people trust in him, or "save" so many people to report back to his home church about what an amazing job he has been doing. His goal was to have people rest in the power of God.
How did he accomplish this? First, he trusted the Holy Spirit. Over the past year I feel like my understand of the Holy Spirit has grown immensely. At first I thought it was just a strange coincidence that multiple sermons I listened to focused on the Holy Spirit, and that I was given books to understand more, and that my home church was really pushing an open discussion about the Holy Spirit and his role in our lives. I see now that God was strengthening my understanding, and therefore my need and reliance on the Holy Spirit before I set out on this journey. Paul, right here says that it is through the Spirit, that he is able to demonstrate the power of God. It is through the Spirit that he is able to humble himself for God's glory.
Curious to see other things that Paul says about the Holy Spirit, I looked up some verses. Below are just a few:
Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Ephesians 1: 13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
So, what I am learning from this is that I can't go to Uganda thinking I can fix the people there. Or that I am going to do amazing things and change their lives, the entire country of Uganda, forever! However, I can go to Uganda believing that God CAN do amazing things, and God CAN fix people and change the entire country of Uganda forever. I can believe that God CAN work through the Holy Spirit in me to accomplish His will. I can believe that if I humbly seek direction, through prayer, from the Holy Spirit that I can participate in God's work.
Sometimes it is hard to have this mindset...this heartset. Here in Texas as I nurse I must rely on my knowledge, my decisions, my education. In Uganda, although I will be working as a nurse, my true intention is to lead people to trust in God's power, not my own abilities. Please pray that I remain humble while preparing and throughout my time in Uganda. God will do amazing things, I just hope I don't try to steal that show.
