A man (it could have been me) was working in the yard…or perhaps he was attempting to fix his car…or completing some other project. “It is a good thing to fix things on your own.” He thought to himself. “Professionals charge too much for their services and I feel good every time I finish or fix something.”

                His feelings of satisfaction were short-lived as he met with the disapproving and stern look on his wife’s face. Tired from so much work, and annoyed by his unappreciative spouse, the man asked:

                “Why are so angry about? I did all of this for you!”

                The angry wife replied,

                “You called me every five minutes to get you a different tool! You are never prepared when you do a project and I have to stop what I’m doing to…”

                Are we prepared to face life’s hardships when we leave our homes in the morning?

                Do we have all the tools we need to be victorious in Christ?

                The Bible affirms that all Christians have been equipped with all the tools to be successful and triumphant believers in any situation. The problem with many of us is that we do not use the tools that we have In Christ, or in some cases, we don’t even know what (or who) those tools are.

                Allow me to show you some of those tools and I pray that we use them every day.

           The Bible  ^“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

      Good and faithful leaders ^“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

       Prayer “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

       The whole armor of God “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

       Other faithful believers “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:17)

                As you can see, we have all the tools we need to live for God, to grow in the faith and to serve others. I could have included the Holy Spirit in this list, but then I remembered that the Holy Spirit is our God and not a tool that we can use. Rather, we are his tools and instruments for his glory. Therefore, let us use all the tools we have at our disposal, in order for us to become the best possible tool in the hands of the Master.

                A. G.