The Source of Our Sufficiency
Like a phone drawing power when plugged in, we come alive when we draw from the life of Christ within us.
Devotional Credit: Day by Day by Grace – by Bob Hoekstra
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Today’s devotional by Bob Hoekstra centers us on the heart of the exchanged life: the understanding that we are not the source of anything we need—and God is the source of everything we need. Bob invites us to consider the tension between the human instinct to self-produce and the divine truth that sufficiency never originates from the self.
The first half of the devotion tears down the illusion of self-sufficiency. Scripture reminds us that apart from Christ we can do nothing. Our minds may still lean toward striving, trying harder, or trusting in our capabilities to please God, bear fruit, or endure hardship. But as the Psalmists, Jesus, and Paul all affirm, the flesh provides no true resource. Confidence in our own efforts is misplaced.
The second half turns our eyes to God’s provision. We’re not simply left empty—we’re filled. Our sufficiency is from Him. His grace is not partial but complete. In union with Christ, the fruit-bearing life becomes not only possible but inevitable. From Psalm 108 to Philippians 4, we see that God Himself becomes the dynamic source of everything required for the life He calls us to live.
The result? Rest. Confidence. Not in us, but in Christ who lives within us.
Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are not the source, beloved. You were never meant to be. The well of your flesh runs dry, but I am your ever-flowing fountain. Not that you are sufficient in yourself to think anything comes from you—but I am your sufficiency. You do not labor in your own strength; you walk by My Spirit, and I complete what I begin.
Do not trust in your own wisdom or strength or resolve. Put no confidence in the flesh, for your life is now hidden with Christ in Me. The works that endure, the fruit that remains, the peace that passes understanding—they do not originate from you, but from the One who abides in you.
You can do all things—yes, even this—through Christ who empowers you. As you yield and trust, you will discover that what seemed impossible in the old man becomes natural in the new. For I work in you both to will and to do for My good pleasure.
Stay in Me. Draw from Me. Rest in Me. I am the source of every good and perfect thing in your life.
(2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 3:3; Colossians 3:3; John 15:5; Philippians 4:13; Philippians 2:13; James 1:17)
Real-Life Analogy
Think of your smartphone when it’s completely out of battery. No matter how advanced or powerful it is, without being connected to a power source, it can’t function—not even for the simplest task. It doesn’t need to try harder; it needs to be plugged in. The moment it draws power, everything changes—what was dormant becomes dynamic. Likewise, we are not defective; we are simply powerless on our own. But plugged into the life of Christ, we operate exactly as we were designed to: dependent, empowered, fruitful.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, I thank You that I am no longer relying on my own resources to live the life You've called me to. I rejoice that You never intended for me to source godliness from myself. You are my sufficiency. You are my source of wisdom, patience, joy, and endurance. I rest in the union I have with Christ, knowing that Your life in me is more than enough. Today, I walk forward not with pressure, but with peace—because I am not the one producing. You are. And You are always faithful.