God’s grace is more than sufficient for my “Fake it till I make it.”
Photo by Brett Jordan
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An encouragement to let God display His strength and power through us in out times of weakness.
Making it with His grace.
We were ten days away from Easter, and I just happened to be the Easter Coordinator and my regular role as the First Impressions Director for a large church in Durham, NC. I could feel both the tension and anticipation of our staff as we slugged closer to the big day. More work still needed to be done, and we added a big Family-oriented event after our services for the first time. We were planning for massive blow-up bounce houses, obstacle courses, a rock-climbing wall, a photo booth, candy, popcorn, snow cones, prizes, and more games. Think of it like a carnival for Jesus. The hope was to draw in the community, get people to hear the gospel, invite everyone back next week, and throw an outrageous celebration for the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But this kind of celebration takes a lot of work and strategic planning from many people. With that comes various personalities, work styles, temperaments, and stress levels. And to be honest, at times, I didn’t know how to handle all of that.
In the weeks leading up to Easter, I was genuinely surprised by my ease in managing these roles. However, the closer we got to the big day, I could feel the encroaching weight of the pressure to succeed. There was a pull to shrink inward and start a frantic scramble to get everything in order even though things were coming together reasonably smoothly from the looks of it. I could feel myself slipping into this mentality of “well… I’ll just do what I can and then fake the rest.” I don’t know about you, but I grew up hearing the phrase “sometimes you just gotta fake it ‘till you make it.” Fake the smile, fake the confidence, fake the joy, fake whatever you need. However, during our weekly staff prayer, I heard that still small voice of our Father, and He challenged me to lean into His grace instead of whatever I was able to muster up. I heard Him say, “My grace is much more sufficient than your fake it ‘till I make it.” And the thing is, I honestly don’t want to fake it ‘till I make it.
Unfortunately, many of us have mistaken this idea of just faking it as faith. I’m here to tell you they are not the same. Something fake is disingenuine or counterfeit. Faith, on the other hand, is grounded in truth. Hebrews 11:1 puts it this way: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” In other words, faith embodies assurance and confidence in a divine guarantee of what we hope for in accordance with the Word of God. Faith is a far cry from faking it.
As I continued to contemplate this, I was encouraged by 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. In this passage of Scripture, Paul shares his supernatural heavenly experience and the subsequent agony of an ongoing trial (described as a thorn). However, each time he pleaded with the Lord to take away his pain, the Lord responds, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (vs. 9a). At this point, we see a shift in Paul. Instead of focusing on his pain, he realigns his perspective to focus on the Lord so that God may have glory. This shift allows Paul to “boast all the more gladly of [his] weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon [him]” (vs. 9b).
Paul didn’t just think, well, I’m going to fake it ‘till I make it. First, he fully acknowledged the weight and pain of his struggle. Faith requires an acknowledgment of the situation at hand, but it propels us to believe for change. Perhaps it’s a change in our situation or perspective; whatever it is, we must first acknowledge the struggle to believe for change. However, after Paul acknowledges the “thorn in his side,” he doesn’t wallow in self-pity or pretend it’s not there. He leans into God’s grace to sustain him.
After reflecting on this scripture, I did my best to press into God’s grace through Easter. At moments I failed and felt frazzled. However, the day came and went just like any other day. There were plenty of hiccups, but I genuinely felt God’s grace. I knew that God would display his power where I fell short, and He did (even in the small things). I saw his grace & power shown in the fellowship of other Believers that day. I saw His grace and strength displayed in public declarations of faith through baptisms. I saw his grace & power shown through the children’s ministers. I saw His grace and power displayed through the seamless teamwork of our volunteers. His grace and power saturated and shook the whole day.
We all have some thorns of weakness. Yours is likely different than mine, and even then, I hope to encourage you to lean into God’s grace in whatever situation you may find yourself in. When we fall short, God shows out. Trust me. His grace is much more sufficient than your “fake it ‘till I make it.”
-Macaela Campbell