WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF IDEAS

A young man recently asked; “Sir, how do you get to weave together inspiring stories to communicate Bible truths? Do you ever run out of ideas?” My sincere response was; “I do run out of ideas sometimes, but I just find a way around it. I noticed that the writeups that come out of such low moments often bless people more. God does not only want to use our strengths. He also wants to use our weaknesses if we can thrust them to Him.” Friend, what do you do when you run out of ideas? The truth is, strong people do have moments of seeming weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Smart people have moments of cluelessness. The issue is not about having everything under our grip or not. It is what we do when we don’t have it all in control. It is knowing that God wants to use our strength as well as our weakness (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). With God, what you lean on matters. God did not tell us not to have understanding. But He says we should lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). What we lean on matters. God’s strength or ours? God’s wisdom or our own understanding? God’s strength or our weakness? Our weakness does not affect God. It may only affect us. God works best in us during our moments of weakness (2 Corinthians 4:7-10). You must know how to handle your weakness. You must know what to do when you don’t know what to do. Like I responded sincerely to that young man, learn to be vulnerable. Don’t always pose to people as infallible, like you have everything under control (2 Corinthians 12:10). Sometimes, when our church members call me seeking counsel or direction in some areas of their lives, I don’t have ready answers. I have learnt to humbly tell them to call or check back. There are questions I don’t have an answer to, even as a pastor and father at home. I don’t fake perfection. I don’t behave as “El-shadad” to my children. Sometimes, we have to check the Bible together to get answers. At times, we check Google to learn new things. You also have questions you don’t have ready answers to. The wisdom of God comes through for you when you know the limit of your own wisdom (John 5:30). Sometimes, God would wait for you to come to the end of yourself before He shows up for you. He wants you to know that without Him, you can do nothing (John 15:5). He wants you to lean on Him and learn from Him. A truly wise person is one who has learnt to tap into the intelligence of God (Isaiah 11:1-3). When you run out of ideas, learn to run to God. He is never clueless. You will not be stranded. Amen! ‘Demola Awoyele Lead Pastor, Destiny Impact Church Akure, Nigeria