Perfect Strength in Weakness

There are times in life when we beg God to help us because of some physical illness, emotional turmoil or trial in our spiritual life. Paul did this too. He had a “thorn in the flesh” and begged God to remove it from him. There is much speculation about what that thorn was, but it does not really matter.

The crux of the issue is that God’s grace was sufficient for Paul to excel in life in spite of it (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). Paul actually learned to brag about his imperfections and infirmities, so that the power of Christ in him would give him rest for his soul. God’s power, strength and ability are perfected in our weaknesses.

All we need to flourish in this life is His grace. Whenever we are weak, Christ in us is our strength (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). The prophet Daniel relied on God’s strength in his times of weakness too (Daniel 10:19). The warrior and national leader of Israel, Joshua, found strength and courage in his times of fear (Joshua 1:9).

If we have personal power, we would not need God; and we could boast in our abilities and accomplishments (2 Corinthians 12:1). However, our life in Christ is not about us at all (Ephesians 2:8-9). That is why God uses the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the mind of those who consider themselves wise (1 Corinthians 1:27).

Our faith does not rest on human abilities but on God’s power within us (1 Corinthians 2:5). A surrendered life is the successful life. Out of God’s glorious riches, He empowers us by His Spirit, which abides within us (Ephesians 3:16). We can excel in the will of God and live a fulfilled Christian life, because He lives in us (Philippians 4:13).

Prayer:
Father God, You remind us not to be anxious about anything, but to come to You in everything, letting You know what we need. We start from a place of gratitude for all You have already done for us, and then we make our requests known to You. This results in a shower of Your peace on our life, which transcends every negative aspect that we are experiencing (Philippians 4:6).

Thought for the Day:

God’s peace guards our mind and heart in Christ Jesus, in spite of what life throws at us. - Philippians 4:7

Thank God for Encouragers

 

Every Pastor needs at least one encourager to keep him from succumbing to the constant discouragement from Satan’s emissaries. Pastors need people to respect and believe in them, to pray for them and to compliment them for a job well done.

The congregation needs encouragers too - people who will listen and remember to pray for our concerns - those who call to check on us and to see how we are doing, and if they can help with any of our physical, emotional, financial or spiritual needs.

A man named Joseph in the Bible encouraged people so much, that the Saints started calling him “Barnabas”, which means “the son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). What a great compliment! God used Barnabas to introduce Paul, the persecutor of Christians, to the apostles of Jesus who lived in Jerusalem (Acts 9:27). The duo of Paul and Barnabas became a household name after a while, even to this day.

Barnabas had the discernment needed to encourage others. Even when Paul disqualified a young Believer named Mark from joining him in ministry, Barnabas took Mark under his wing. Barnabas believed in Mark and encouraged him, just like he had encouraged Paul. Eventually, Paul recognized the new maturity in Mark and took him on one of his future missionary journeys (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). Barnabas even took a turn encouraging and ministering with the apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:13).

We each have our own personal encourager living right inside of us (John 14:16-17). Our Father sent Him to us when Jesus returned to heaven. The Holy Spirit is our comforter and our guide. He revives, helps and fortifies us as He teaches us and brings the words of Jesus to our remembrance (John 14:26). Therefore, between comfort from our church family and that of the Holy Spirit within us, we can rise above any challenge Satan throws at us (1 John 4:4).

Prayer:

Father God, Your strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Your Spirit leads us in this world of darkness, and comforts us in every trial we endure. Remind us to submit to His presence within us, and to trust that You are working through Him to direct the feet of the stumbling and to protect the heart of the downtrodden. His comfort envelops us and brings us victory in each facet of life and through every tribulation.

Thought for the Day:
When someone rejects God’s Truth, we can love them without condemnation or rejection, which will give them the freedom to express their doubts in a safe environment, as we encourage them to open their hearts to God’s love.

Assume the Position

God made sure to provide us with many Biblical examples to follow. Jesus came down from heaven, not to do His own will or to seek His own glory, but to follow only our Father’s will for His life (John 6:38; 8:50). He did not do or speak anything by His own effort, but only as our Father instructed Him (John 8:28-29). He willingly laid down His human will and lived to please our Father. God wants us to adopt the same mindset as Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11). He laid down His glory and came to serve at our Father’s pleasure, even to the point of death (Philippians 2:5-8).

Another instance is our dear brother, Job. He lost every one and every thing that was dear to his heart. He ended up in an ash heap with boils and ill health, but he would not curse the Lord and die (Job 2:9). In His graciousness, God gave Job abundantly more than he ever had before his trials began (Job 42:10). Just like Jesus, Job reaped the blessings of God in return for submission to God’s will, and so will we (Philippians 2:9).

Stephen, a man full of God’s grace, wisdom and power performed many signs and wonders during his service to God (Acts 6:8,10). During his trial, his face shone like an angel with the peace of God (Acts 6:15). Even while threatened with death, Stephen preached his finest sermon. As he kept his focus on Jesus, the heavens opened up before Him and He viewed the scene in Heaven as he slipped from his earthly existence into eternity (Acts 7:1-60).

Paul lived his life dedicated to the Jewish religion, rising to the top with his self-efforts. He persecuted the followers of Christ with a vengeance. Then, he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus and formed a union that gave him courage to face future deprivation and persecution with joy (Acts 9:4; Philippians 4:4). He surrendered everything to gain a deeper walk with Christ (Philippians 3:8). James must have had this same experience, because He advised us to count it all joy when we experience negative circumstances in our life (James 1:2).

Life is not about you! It is not about me either. Life is all about the will of our compassionate Father for each of us. In our stubborn, self-centered efforts to live our life, God allows us to go our own way, waiting patiently for us to exhaust our resources and fail in devastation. This is when, like Stephen, we finally look up from our pit of doom into His glorious face. Once we completely surrender to Christ in us, God shows us great and mighty things (Jeremiah 33:3) and fills us with His peace and joy (Romans 15:13).

We are all called us to assume the position of a helpless child, living in the nurture and with the direction of our benevolent Father (Matthew 18:3). Pursuing our earthly dreams and goals will never bring us true happiness. A surrendered life brings contentment to the inner core of our soul and to the depths of our heart, regardless of the circumstances in our life (1 Timothy 6:6, 8; 2 Corinthians 4:17). As we follow the will of God moment by moment throughout our day, He fills us with His peace and His Spirit until we glow with the face of an angel like Stephen, we enjoy material blessings like Job, we have an effective ministry like Paul and we live in the anointing of Jesus.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You lived a surrendered life to the will of our Father, giving us Your example to follow. Help us to shed the burdens of this world and to walk in Your freedom now and in eternity. Use us as instruments to shed Your peace abroad in the earth as we share Your gospel with those humble enough to receive You into their hearts.

Thought for the Day:

Constant denial of God’s call on our life will harden our heart and cause us to walk away from His Truth.

 

Thank you, Michael D. Perkins, for the use of your photo.

So, You Want to Give Up?

Read: Habakkuk 3:17-19
 
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 Sometimes it is easier to escape than to endure. Life gets so difficult that there seems to be no way out our troubles. The torturous events go on and on. One negative experience follows on the tail of the previous one until we are covered with an avalanche of destruction all around us. People say, “Trouble comes in threes”, but sometimes, that is an understatement!

I wrote a song that speaks to this topic:

When my ship is all but sunken,
And my treasure’s lost at sea,
When my crew has all deserted
And I know not the fate of me.

When the paycheck’s always shrinking,

And the landlord upped my rent.
When my friends all turn against me
And my motorcycle’s bent.

I will put my trust in Jesus.

I will call upon His name.
And I know my battle cry
Will still remain,

The battle is the Lord’s. Hallelujah!

The battle is the Lord’s. Praise the Lord!
The battle is the Lord’s. Glory, glory!
The battle is the Lord’s forevermore.

In God’s economy, it is never time to give up. Remember what He did with so many of the Biblical saints? He waited until Job lost everything before He gave Job more than he had to start with (Job 6:8-9). He sent angels to rescue Daniel only after he was in the lion's den (Daniel 6:19-21). God rescued Peter from prison the night before he was to be executed (Acts 12:4-11). Paul says God rescued him after he had the "sentence of death" within him (2 Corinthians 1:9).

He works like this in all of our lives. He waits until the last minute according to our timetable. That is why people call Him “The God of 11:59”.  He is actually always on time, according to His time schedule. He always rescues us right on time and with an abundance of blessings that follow. We find joy in hope and peace in times of trouble, when we immerse all things in prayer at all times (Romans 12:12).

Habakkuk really had a rough time too. His fig trees refused to blossom. His vines produced no grapes. His olive crop failed and his fields yielded no produce. Even his livestock dwindled until there was nothing left. But, he had a battle cry similar to mine. He said, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights" (Habakkuk 3:17-19). We can always set our hope in God, because He will deliver us continually (2 Corinthians 1:10).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, when I see nothing but shadows all around me, Your Word shines a light on my path and gives me a lamp for my feet (Psalm 119:105). It keeps me from stumbling in the darkness. Therefore, even in this dark time, I can grasp Your hand and hold on. You alone are my hope (1 Timothy 4:10).

Thought for the Day:

God always brings us victory out of defeat.



(Thank you, Ann Hill, for sharing your lovely photo.)