Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


11.15.2004  

Relishing

The other night at the Olive Garden, Mike spoke about how the Lord's teaching him once again to relish in our weakness. I told him that that's something the Lord put on my heart a while back, but that hearing him speak of it brought it back to mind once more.



I told Pablo the other day that I feel drained...not empty, but drained. There's a difference. It seems that every little bit of Living Water the Lord pours into me is quickly sucked dry, and every moment of brilliant joy is quickly dimmed by a cloud of pain and loneliness. Yet not all is dryness, nor is all darkness. My weaknesses are not something I am to be ashamed of, nor are they to be avoided; quite frankly, the Lord is very clear and unashamed in that it is in proclaiming my weakness to the World that He exercises His power in my life. See what His word says in 2 Corinthians 12:7 - 10:



Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.



Oh, to relish in my weakness for Christ's sake! That is what Paul speaks of when he speaks of "boasting" and being "well content" in and with his weaknesses. *Sigh*...I would be a liar if I said I wish I were not so weak. Such is the state of my soul, that my pride blinds me to the grace the Lord bestows upon me through the means of the shining forth His glory in my weakness! In my foolish pride I want to be the strong one, the one who others look to for strength and comfort. Yet that is not my lot, is it? No, for that is Christ's! I am weak, for I am but a Man! I am beset with weaknesses and difficulties, beset with fears and hopes and dreams that all seem to come crashing down around me at once more often than not.



What do I do when I no longer desire Him? What do I do when I no longer desire His word? In recent days, I have stood upon the edge of despair and gazed down into its suffocating pits. Though despair taunts me and rages 'round me, the Lord sustains me. Though I crawl away from the edge but slowly, I know He is helping me along. And when I desire to turn back, He is faithful to hear my plea for more grace. Quite often is the time, however, when I suddenly find myself at the edge of that pit once more, and I wonder if I'll ever crawl far enough away not to slide back once again.



Yet what does the Lord say to that? "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." And my response? It must be as Paul's when he says, "most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." My weaknesses have more than just a lesson, they have a purpose. That lesson is Christ's power, that purpose is Christ's glory. I would despair if I did not know that the Lord causes all things to happen for the good of those who love Him...that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him...that His mercies are new every morning...that I have a Great High Priest who sympathizes with me in my weakness, and who has atoned for my sin and ever lives to intercede on my behalf...that the Lord calls me "beloved," and says of me, "you are Mine!" Yes, I would despair if my weaknesses were all that I would ever know. But they are not, therefore I do not despair; no, I relish in them.

posted by Bolo | 11:35 PM
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