Friday, June 5, 2009

Delightful Weakness

Happy Friday all! What an incredibly amazing week in our lovely State! Seriously, the sun is shining, it's been 85+ all week and we had an incredible Storm come in last night. God is so gracious! I was actually hoping for a good 'ol thunderstorm... because I LOVE watching them come in. :-)

As I was reading 2 Cor. 12, specifically the section on the thorn in Paul's side - I had a new perspective. Three different times Paul begs of the Lord to take the thorn from his flesh, what he calls "A messenger of satan". And you want to know what God's answer was? "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." In essence, God didn't take that thorn away from Paul, and Paul goes on to say: “that’s why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

I’ve always grappled with this particular set of scripture because how exactly is His power made perfect in weakness? And how in the world are we ever able to rejoice in hardships? Then I realized, it’s during the times of struggles, trials, and overall downfall in life - when we feel like we’re nothing - that we call out to Jesus the most… and in essence become stronger and more fulfilled in our faith that we’re able to face the next round of struggles because His grace carries us through, training us for what’s to come in the future. When we’re weak in our flesh, we’re strong in our spirit and faith in Christ.

The one part of this that we need to realize and learn from that sometimes, God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want Him to. Sometimes we don't get the job. Sometimes the marriage isn't restored. Sometimes the friendship is not saved. The people we love will die. The things we so desire won't fulfill us. And the worldliness we all so strive for (the bigger house, bigger car, better job, more money, more prestige, more fame, etc) won't give us what we long for and we'll never be completely satisfied - always feeling like we're running around on empty.

I truly believe the reason some of our prayers are answered as "no" is so that we may grow from the trials that will inevitably come with the no. We're walked through the valley's so we can remember that "His grace is sufficient". And it's in the valley's, the frustrations, the disappointments of this life that our Faith is strengthened, our hope is restored, and our desires for God's purposes in our lives are refined.

What are the things God's telling you "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"? What is God calling you to change in your life? What desires has God laid on your heart to do, but you've never followed through on? God gives us the desires we have so that His kingdom may be grown and that we may have something to look forward to and work for during our time on earth. Go after those desires with the greatest passion you can muster, and God will bless you RICHLY for following what He has called you to do.

I just love the Lord! :-) Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

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