II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”
In the verses before this one, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are the result of his ministry. Through his teaching and preaching, this church had been started and was established. He was the human element behind its establishment.
Even though he makes this claim, he gives all glory to God. He knew he was merely the instrument that God used to bring about this result. He declared that he was not able to do this on his own: “not that we are sufficient of ourselves.”
For those who teach and preach God’s Word, this principle always needs to be remembered. We can do nothing without Him! The reason for Paul’s success was because he worked but trusted God for the result!
God wants to use you – but He must get the glory. Sometimes, the harvest is not ready yet and takes time for the seed to grow. The Corinthian church undoubtedly gave Paul some sleepless nights – but Paul kept on praying and communicating with them. Slowly, good fruit became evident in this church.
Our ability to keep on serving God – even when things do not look good – is because “our sufficiency is of God.” Remember also that the arm of flesh will fail you. Our ability to keep on going for God or to develop fruit comes from His power and grace – not our personality or talents.
When you depend on Him for the power and for the results – you can see Him do things you never could.