A woman from church recently encouraged me that God had equipped me to accomplish certain tasks that lie ahead.
Her words were “apples of gold in settings of silver” – exactly what I needed to hear.
I munched on that golden apple, relishing the taste of knowing God had prepared me. I thanked Him for enabling me.
Social norms immediately swept through my mind, denouncing my use of the term enabling, but I resisted the taint now associated with the word.
Merriam-Webster lists the following definition for Enable: 1 a: to provide with the means or opportunity … b: to make possible, practical, or easy … c: to cause to operate … 2: to give legal power, capacity, or sanction to
The next entry in the MW dictionary adds an r to the end of enable and the word becomes enabler, the less-than-flattering term that today bears a load of negative connotations.
Again, I resisted. God enables us but not in a passively harmful way. He empowers us, strengthens us, gives us what we need to serve Him and grow in faith.
One morning soon after, my devotional reading took me to John 6 and the account of people deserting Jesus because of something He said. He explained to His disciples that He knew even some of them didn’t really believe.
“This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him” John 6:65 NIV).
Though surprised to see the word enable, I was thrilled to find it. Vindicated somehow.
Of course God enables us. How else would we have strength for anything?
The choice is ours, the power is His.
