When we try to grow spiritually by serving God, we may sometimes feel discouraged, “I don’t have much ability.” Thankfully, God doesn’t fixate on our ability. If his priority had been abilities by which he could get things done, he could do them himself or do them through any of his many energies; he is, after all, omnipotent. What he wants from us is our heart: our freely offered attention, affection and absorption. And all of these begin with offering him our availability. 

When we offer him our heart, won’t we naturally express it through the corresponding actions? Yes, we will. But how attractive those actions will be in the world’s eyes will depend on our abilities. For example, we all can share Krishna’s wisdom as given in the Bhagavad-gita, but how much people will be attracted by it may depend on abilities such as eloquence, vocabulary, logical reasoning, structured thinking, humor and so forth. 

As Krishna is the source of all abilities, including our abilities, he knows what abilities we have and what we lack. He is not unreasonable; he doesn’t expect us to do things that we just don’t have the ability to do. He is satisfied with simple things such as a fruit, a flower, a leaf or even a little water — provided they are offered with devotion (Bhagavad-gita 09.26). He doesn’t care for materially opulent things; for him, all such things are simply the means by which we express our love for him. 

When we thus understand what he really wants, we can unhesitatingly make ourselves available to him for doing some service, without worrying inordinately about our lack of ability. For example, we can just start sharing his wisdom without getting caught in thinking whether others have more or less ability than us. And such an earnest attempt by itself, independent of its reach to others, will increase our conviction in his wisdom and our attraction toward him who is the source of that wisdom. 

One-sentence summary: 

For God, our availability is more important than our ability.

Think it over: 

  • In spiritual life, what is determined by our abilities? 
  • In spiritual life, what is not determined by our abilities? 
  • How does knowing Krishna’s priority affect our practice of bhakti? 

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09.26: If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.

When we feel that we lack ability …

To know more about this verse, please click on the image