Well, I'm not exactly starting off with something that would 'draw people in,' am I? Who wants to be weak? I must confess, I don't like being weak, either. Yet, at the same time, I desire His power to be perfected in me. We live in 'oxymoronism,' don't we? (Don't look it up. I just coined it).
That verse, 2 Corinthians 12:9, arrested me yesterday. Let me give you the entire verse: And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” As Americans, we were once a nation full of Christians who walked out their faith. Oh, yes, there are some today, but I suspect not nearly as many as there were 100 years ago. And I'm sure the reasons are more numerous than we'll ever know, this side of heaven. But I have to wonder how much of it is that we refuse to allow ourselves to be weak. And, by this refusal, how much of His power has NOT been perfected in us? Owww...this sadly applies to me as well as the rest of His body.
I've always been single. This is a great excuse for not allowing myself to be weak. What about the adult who was an abused child? the adult who was bullied in junior high? the adult male who wasn't into sports as a child, but preferred music or reading? The list goes on. Could we possibly meet ANYONE who has no reason to put on a tough exterior to hide their weakness?
Yet, He has said His grace is sufficient for us and His power is perfected in our weakness. Do we REALLY believe it? I'm jobless at this time. Do you think I want to appear to be weak, especially as I look for possible jobs and see few, if any, that truly 'fit' what I'd LIKE to do? We fear being taken advantage of if we exhibit our weakness...even by God...even by the Church.
Yet, He longs for us to allow Him to unleash His power in us. He longs, more than that, I suspect, that we would TRUST Him. I'm not sure we remember how, as we've been so self-sufficient. But, He is faithful, even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). Isaiah (11:3) said, "He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear." We westerners are not in the habit of applying this verse to ourselves. We, for the most part, trust our ears and eyes far more than we trust Him. We've trusted more in our 401K's than we've trusted in Him. Our brothers and sisters in Christ in other countries have much more experience at this AND 2 Cor 12:9, as they've had much taken away from them that has made them 'strong' in and of themselves. I fear this is the only way most of will let go of our 'faux strength' and let Him become our strength. He is, after all, no respecter of persons, is He? May we choose NOW to expose our weakness to the One Who is full of strength and longs to operate it in and through us, as, in Heaven, that opportunity (to choose) will be over. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth! (Ps 8:9)
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