So... There's this crazy, mind-blowing, phenomenal blessing of a thing that God has given each and every one of us... You know what it is? Weakness.
You call me crazy, and my human-led part of myself calls me crazy as well, but allow me to remind you to think about this really important truth, just as God has faithfully reminded me to think about it this week.
2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
You know that feeling... that feeling of mind exploding wonder and awe that you get when you catch even just a glimpse of the raw, unadulterated Truth? That same feeling is the feeling I get when I think of Christ's death, the state of mankind, suffering, etc... that feeling where you actually feel the weight of the deep darkness and hideousness of a thing and yet the breathtaking beauty of unparalleled purity and goodness of it, all at the same time, all weighed and observed in one hand! It's such an unspeakably amazing thing, as are other Truths that God leads us to stumble upon, and that's how I'm beginning to feel about the topic of weakness.
In most situations I just get preoccupied by weakness, get discouraged by it, and focus on it rather than the power and the plan behind the Voice that has called me to do what He has. I think it a very natural and normal process for us to find discouragement and discouragement alone when we are pulled down to look our weaknesses, brokenness, and falleness straight in the eyes...
Encouragement is needed in this area, and hopefully I can pass on, amongst this rabble of words, a taste of that hope and encouragement which God promises and sings over us!
I've lost track of time this week, but I believe it was two nights ago, I went to a Biola chapel, and heard one of the most impactful things I have heard in a very long time. A Chinese woman spoke at the chapel, a Chinese woman who had been harshly persecuted and tortured for her faith, who had such a passion for God and other people coming to know His glory, that she endured 6 years of imprisonment under the hand of the Chinese government, until God finally brought her out as a refugee to the United States.
Her story is a crazy one, and I know that thousands, if not more, believers around the world suffer from much the same thing. Which, may I add, is even crazier! And yet, in all the stories she recounted for us, the one main thing that she emphasized about herself in that experience was that she was WEAK. She was not just being humble in saying that, but I could see that literally, if God had not carried her along, if His glory, grace, and passion was not as great as it is and was, she probably would never have made it through.
WEAKNESS. We've all got it. All those who endure persecution daily have it. Missionaries across the world have it. Our greatest leaders have it. I have plenty of it, and undoubtedly so do you. The crazy thing is that none of our limitations can in any way, shape or form stop God from doing with us what He wills, nor can they disqualify us from bringing glory to His name in the ways that he created us to! I feel so limited in regards to the people I can reach, in regards to what I can actually accomplish for God's name... but all of those things that I have to work through and that have been the repeating trials of growth in my life, those things are the things that speak a better word than any other, that speak Truth in ways that can hit and encourage hearts in the ways most needed!
Weakness is disheartening, it's frustrating and difficult to deal with, think upon, and work through, but it is also one of the biggest blessings God has given us: points that remind us and remind others just how great, gracious, and wonderful our God is, and just how far His gracious hand stretches into our lives!
I've found that God has far more grace for us than we often offer ourselves, and I know, for my own part, that I need to work on that.
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