How many of us feel like we don't posses the strength required to complete a task God has called us to do? Take heart! Paul felt the same way, and expressed his feeling in the letter he wrote to the church of Corinth when he shared an experience with them.
A messenger of Satan tormented him with a "thorn in his flesh." Paul saw how this "thorn in his flesh" hindered him in certain ways. He asked the Lord to remove it from him three different times. Instead of removing it, the Lord simply replied, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (1 Cor 12:9).
Not exactly the response Paul hoped for. Many of us experience the same thing Paul did. We know, deep down, that we have a weakness that can hinder us, whether it is spiritual, physical, or mental. But God isn't interested in our strengths. He is interested in our weaknesses.
I used to have a weakness of my own--and when I'm not careful, this weakness still causes a thorn in my flesh. My years in middle school were torture because I didn't understand anything I was supposed to learn. I couldn't spell, I couldn't read well, and grammar was an all around difficult subject to master (which I never did). Every Friday, I racked up another F with our weekly vocabulary test. Then of course, there was history. I'm not even going to touch that one.
Only in high school, when I asked God to open my understanding, did I learn. I knew that whatever God desired to do with my life, understanding the material would be the key in getting me there. I learned more in those four years of high school than I had in the eight years it took me to get there. Any, if not all, of my middle school teachers would be shocked to learn that I'm writing historical fiction.
So, how does someone like me end up writing historical fiction (which includes every weakness I inhibited)? God's perfect grace. I refuse to take any credit, because I know what I'm like without His power working in my weakness. And believe me, It isn't pretty. But, he allows me to tell stories (though I'm unpublished) that will glorify Him.
So, how does God use your weakness to display His perfect Grace? I'd love to hear your own story.
A messenger of Satan tormented him with a "thorn in his flesh." Paul saw how this "thorn in his flesh" hindered him in certain ways. He asked the Lord to remove it from him three different times. Instead of removing it, the Lord simply replied, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (1 Cor 12:9).
Not exactly the response Paul hoped for. Many of us experience the same thing Paul did. We know, deep down, that we have a weakness that can hinder us, whether it is spiritual, physical, or mental. But God isn't interested in our strengths. He is interested in our weaknesses.
I used to have a weakness of my own--and when I'm not careful, this weakness still causes a thorn in my flesh. My years in middle school were torture because I didn't understand anything I was supposed to learn. I couldn't spell, I couldn't read well, and grammar was an all around difficult subject to master (which I never did). Every Friday, I racked up another F with our weekly vocabulary test. Then of course, there was history. I'm not even going to touch that one.
Only in high school, when I asked God to open my understanding, did I learn. I knew that whatever God desired to do with my life, understanding the material would be the key in getting me there. I learned more in those four years of high school than I had in the eight years it took me to get there. Any, if not all, of my middle school teachers would be shocked to learn that I'm writing historical fiction.
So, how does someone like me end up writing historical fiction (which includes every weakness I inhibited)? God's perfect grace. I refuse to take any credit, because I know what I'm like without His power working in my weakness. And believe me, It isn't pretty. But, he allows me to tell stories (though I'm unpublished) that will glorify Him.
So, how does God use your weakness to display His perfect Grace? I'd love to hear your own story.
I would have to say that my weakness is relationships. Because of my past it's very hard in my mind to justify any kind of relationship with anyone past the needed. Once I started really giving myself and my life to Christ, that changed. Now, I'm jumping into the fray and day by day, little by little; I'm coming to understand what relationships are all about and why God wants us to have them. Now when my fear, anger or doubt comes up, He is able to set me straight and use my past of fear, doubt, anger and mistrust to help other people get over theirs' as well.
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