This reformed dead sea is teeming with life and I give God all glory and praise that He rejoices in bringing the dead back to life.
We live in a society that is repulsed by weakness, and we are a people that finds any discomfort detestable. We are certain that with that particular degree from the correct university then we will be able to stave off loss and discomfort. When the proper bank accountants reach a certain number then we will ensure our stability. With the right dietary regime combined with cardiovascular exercise and a touch of strength training we are assured that we will become quite invisible. We search high and low and we find the one that is certainly as anti-weakness us ourselves and we couple ourselves with them and we console ourselves that our little darlings will hit the genetic jackpot and they too will live a life of comfort and ease.
At the first sign of the sniffles we hit WebMD eighteen times, spend a small fortune at our local pharmacy, call in sick and just for good measure we visit our favorite MD who prescribes enough medication to care for a small village. We hate sickness, we run arms wildly failing about with fright riddled all over our faces from any sign of infirmity. We hate weakness because weakness may lead to pain and that is just simply unbearable.
A confession ~ I spent that vast majority of my life training hard to outrun any and all weakness.
Another confession ~ I was my absolute weakest at the pinnacle of what the world deems to be strong.
I pursued the correct degrees and the numbers were adding up in all the right bank accounts. My children were walking poster boards for the Gap and all their cronies. We lived in the right amount of square footage and my husband had the type of collar device that made others pop a smart salute. I ran a fast mile split and swam miles in the open water and you would certainly never see me cry. And the foolish eyes of this land looked upon me and mine and congratulated us on our assault against weakness. I too was fooled into believing the lie that became my reality ~ that weakness was a thing to be despised.
And in heavy pursuit of the world's strength I was in spiritual decay and I may have stayed that way ~ except for the true reality ~ that Truth has a way of setting you free, free from the confines of the foolish ways of this world.
Does weakness scare you? Yes, it did me too. Are you frightened by infirmities and loss? You would barely be human if you had not lost sleep over those. Persecution? Reproaches? Unmet needs? Yes, it is our fleshy nature to turn from them all and it is our cultural norm to avoid them all at all costs. But, what if the cost is your soul? What if it is the souls of those you love?
Listen to what the Word says about weakness ~
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ~ " . . . My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
In the Amplified version verse 9 reads as such ~
"But He said to me, My grace is enough for you; for My strength and power are made perfect and show themselves most effective in your weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!"
(I was writing last Thursday evening and at this point the direction of the Jordan flow changed course as a hurting child needed her Mom to talk and not write, but the waters continued to flow and provide grace and healing to us both.)
Our fear of weakness is entirely unbiblical.
His strength is made perfect in our weakness ~ does this imply that God was not perfect before our weakness? Of course not, for we know He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and He was perfect yesterday and He is perfect today and tomorrow and He is perfect with or without my weaknesses. The perfection comes in us ~ we are the imperfect souls and as we lay weaknesses bare for the Perfect One His strength begins to wrought perfection in us. In our frailty and failings He perfects His work of perfection in us and through us. Think of the freedom and the rejoicing this ought to bring about in our souls! Heavenly Father ~ gives us eyes to see and ears to hear.
In the Amplified verse 9 stopped me midstride ~ He pitches a tent over me (and my home and family!) and His strength and power dwell among us when we glory in our weaknesses! My Heavenly Father sets up a canopy of His power over me and my home and my family if I will willingly glory in my frailty and inability! What freedom and release this brings to me, what joy and peace I hear in these words; for lately I am nothing but frailty, weaknesses, inabilities, and one GIANT shortcoming! For I know everyday that I have truly met my match here in this call He has called me to, I am outnumbered and overwhelmed and I awake exhausted and I am entirely UNDONE! And God quietly and simply placed a tent of His power over this failing that is me and my failings are called perfection through power of God!
If the call God has laid on your life does not drive you to your knees in utter desperation, if you do not wonder on a constant, hourly basis how it will be possible, if you do look at your capabilities laid beside the task at hand and weep a silent tear at the tremendous disparity between the two then dare I say you have not found His call in your life or have not surrendered to it in its entirety. Why? Because every believer who calls on the name of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ needs live and work and tarry our days under a canopy of His power. Only in our brokenness are we made whole.
And today I run a race I intend to fail for in my failings I begin to race towards His perfection ~
For when my failings, I truly face
And my weaknesses I joyfully embrace,
Then I fall in stride with His pace,
Knowing that my Champion has already won this race.
And we race weak and we race frail and we race on for the glory of the Risen Son!
We live in a society that is repulsed by weakness, and we are a people that finds any discomfort detestable. We are certain that with that particular degree from the correct university then we will be able to stave off loss and discomfort. When the proper bank accountants reach a certain number then we will ensure our stability. With the right dietary regime combined with cardiovascular exercise and a touch of strength training we are assured that we will become quite invisible. We search high and low and we find the one that is certainly as anti-weakness us ourselves and we couple ourselves with them and we console ourselves that our little darlings will hit the genetic jackpot and they too will live a life of comfort and ease.
At the first sign of the sniffles we hit WebMD eighteen times, spend a small fortune at our local pharmacy, call in sick and just for good measure we visit our favorite MD who prescribes enough medication to care for a small village. We hate sickness, we run arms wildly failing about with fright riddled all over our faces from any sign of infirmity. We hate weakness because weakness may lead to pain and that is just simply unbearable.
A confession ~ I spent that vast majority of my life training hard to outrun any and all weakness.
Another confession ~ I was my absolute weakest at the pinnacle of what the world deems to be strong.
I pursued the correct degrees and the numbers were adding up in all the right bank accounts. My children were walking poster boards for the Gap and all their cronies. We lived in the right amount of square footage and my husband had the type of collar device that made others pop a smart salute. I ran a fast mile split and swam miles in the open water and you would certainly never see me cry. And the foolish eyes of this land looked upon me and mine and congratulated us on our assault against weakness. I too was fooled into believing the lie that became my reality ~ that weakness was a thing to be despised.
And in heavy pursuit of the world's strength I was in spiritual decay and I may have stayed that way ~ except for the true reality ~ that Truth has a way of setting you free, free from the confines of the foolish ways of this world.
Does weakness scare you? Yes, it did me too. Are you frightened by infirmities and loss? You would barely be human if you had not lost sleep over those. Persecution? Reproaches? Unmet needs? Yes, it is our fleshy nature to turn from them all and it is our cultural norm to avoid them all at all costs. But, what if the cost is your soul? What if it is the souls of those you love?
Listen to what the Word says about weakness ~
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ~ " . . . My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
In the Amplified version verse 9 reads as such ~
"But He said to me, My grace is enough for you; for My strength and power are made perfect and show themselves most effective in your weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!"
(I was writing last Thursday evening and at this point the direction of the Jordan flow changed course as a hurting child needed her Mom to talk and not write, but the waters continued to flow and provide grace and healing to us both.)
Our fear of weakness is entirely unbiblical.
His strength is made perfect in our weakness ~ does this imply that God was not perfect before our weakness? Of course not, for we know He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and He was perfect yesterday and He is perfect today and tomorrow and He is perfect with or without my weaknesses. The perfection comes in us ~ we are the imperfect souls and as we lay weaknesses bare for the Perfect One His strength begins to wrought perfection in us. In our frailty and failings He perfects His work of perfection in us and through us. Think of the freedom and the rejoicing this ought to bring about in our souls! Heavenly Father ~ gives us eyes to see and ears to hear.
In the Amplified verse 9 stopped me midstride ~ He pitches a tent over me (and my home and family!) and His strength and power dwell among us when we glory in our weaknesses! My Heavenly Father sets up a canopy of His power over me and my home and my family if I will willingly glory in my frailty and inability! What freedom and release this brings to me, what joy and peace I hear in these words; for lately I am nothing but frailty, weaknesses, inabilities, and one GIANT shortcoming! For I know everyday that I have truly met my match here in this call He has called me to, I am outnumbered and overwhelmed and I awake exhausted and I am entirely UNDONE! And God quietly and simply placed a tent of His power over this failing that is me and my failings are called perfection through power of God!
If the call God has laid on your life does not drive you to your knees in utter desperation, if you do not wonder on a constant, hourly basis how it will be possible, if you do look at your capabilities laid beside the task at hand and weep a silent tear at the tremendous disparity between the two then dare I say you have not found His call in your life or have not surrendered to it in its entirety. Why? Because every believer who calls on the name of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ needs live and work and tarry our days under a canopy of His power. Only in our brokenness are we made whole.
And today I run a race I intend to fail for in my failings I begin to race towards His perfection ~
For when my failings, I truly face
And my weaknesses I joyfully embrace,
Then I fall in stride with His pace,
Knowing that my Champion has already won this race.
And we race weak and we race frail and we race on for the glory of the Risen Son!
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