Being Weak

Bats... gotta love em.' Well, maybe not.
Here's another one of those nasty little things that love flying around inside our house.
Of course it's dead because "the only good bat is a dead bat" (at least in our book).

Have you ever read that scripture in II Corinthians 12:9-10 where it says, 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness... and when I am weak, then I am strong”... have you ever read that? 

It’s one of those verses that actually sounds good enough for a coffee cup, t-shirt or a bumper sticker. But when push comes to shove we usually try and go the opposite way, don't we? Sometimes when we’re facing difficult situations and feeling weak- we’re like, “thanks God, but I got this... I’d rather do this in my own strength because that way I’ll have more control.” Of course we’d probably never say that out loud but sometimes we live that way, right? I mean who wants to be weak? Not me. 

We’re suppose to be strong. We’re told about self confidence, self esteem and believing in ourselves from a young age and we live in a world where pride, power and strength are looked at as good things, right? I’ve never looked at anyone’s bio or resume’ and read (under their list of qualities), “I’m a weak person.” And if I was hiring someone or looking to partner with someone in ministry and they listed “weakness” as one of their attributes I’d probably be a little leery of joining forces with them. But in God’s economy “weakness” is a positive thing. And that’s what makes trials, persecution, infirmities, problems, tragedy, turmoil and any other negative adjective you want to use, all good things. It’s when we’re weak and at the end of ourselves that God’s really able to show-up big in our lives. It’s when we don’t know what to do next and we’re at the end of our rope that God is able to work on our behalf the best. 

So does that mean that we should we seek out tough situations so that we can be totally depleted of everything that is 'us?' Uuuuh, No! They’ll find us (tough situations). But when they do find us, what do we do? Do we hide from them? Do we insulate ourselves against them (through hobbies, drugs, alcohol, food, shopping, sex, TV, etc.) or do we go to God and allow Him to help us. Do we press so far into Him, that as we do (next to Him), our problems seem insignificant and minuscule? That’s what God wants from us... a total reliance on Him and His power. 

But I don’t know about you, but I tend to try and handle things on my own first, then after I become fatigued I run to Him. Why am I so slow on the uptake? Why not just run to Him first and save some time?

The reason I’m writing this today is because we’ve faced some enormous adversity here in Brazil. Our marriage, our kids, our bodies, our ministry, our finances, our vehicle, even our pets!... every area of our lives has been attacked at one point or another. And the one thing that’s changed (from what it was in the US) is that we’ve had to run to God for EVERYTHING just to make it. When we were back in the States we relied on God too, but it was only after we tried to do it on our own. I didn’t want to bother Him with all my “small stuff” because He’s pretty busy, right? But all along He was there just waiting for me “to come to the end of me” so that He could show Himself strong on my behalf. Because He wants to be involved with every aspect of my life... even the small stuff. 

What about you? When you face adversity and tough stuff, do you immediately run to Him or is there something else that you typically try first? Do you look at not being in total control of a situation as a negative thing? If so, then it sounds like we’re just alike. But here’s the thing... He’s ALWAYS there for us. And He’s not only able, but He’s willing to help us. 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

                                                                               Ephesians 3:20-21

Trying to Totally Rely On Jesus (even for the small stuff),

Jim