Faith Friday

There was no Bible study class this morning as one of the gals had a conflict. Therefore I could sleep as late as I wanted to this morning - no alarm going off at 5 am. So why was I wide awake at 6:30? The sun wasn't even shining in my eyes as it is overcast, having had some rain earlier, but currently dry with the promise of a lot more rain to come later.

What to write about today? Why is it that when I started to think about blogging I had so many topics and ideas, and now they have flown out the window along with the wind? I did find the following verse written in my notebook and 'blog' written above it. But for the life of me I don't know what was on my mind when I wrote that! Here is the verse --

2 Corinthians 12:9

And He 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, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

As I said, I don't remember what was on my mind at the time I wrote this down, but I did have the word 'power' underlined. Here is what comes to my mind right now. This is Paul speaking about the thorn in his flesh that he had prayed to God to be removed. And verse 9 is the answer Paul received. Ouch!

But thinking about the fact that God's grace is sufficient, how true that is. That grace is limitless, boundless, abundant, endless. There are many adjectives to describe it and all are wonderful. When God says His grace is sufficient, I find that very comforting. Sufficient. Needing nothing more. It is all I need. One teacher said grace is like standing in the middle of a huge room that is full of wrapped gifts - and they are all for me! All I have to do is take one and unwrap it and enjoy it. The definition of grace is 'unmerited favor.'

"for power is perfected in weakness"

It is God's power and my weakness. If I depend on my power I don't leave room for God to work. Don't we all want to do things ourselves? We don't want or need any help. Often little kids will tell you, "I can do it myself" when we try to help them tie a shoe, cut their meat, pour their milk, button their shirt, zip their coat, etc. They may not do a very good job, spill the milk all over the place and generally make a mess of it. And we still do that as adults, don't we? Just like when the lady from church called and said she wanted to mow my lawn for me. I had a hard time saying she could do it, as I should be able to do it myself. In the end I accepted her offer - stepping aside from my pride, and allowing God's grace touch me through this friend. I had set aside my power, what little I had, because my body really is weak, and let God work through her. And I am very grateful for it!

I think we have all heard the phrase "Let go, and let God." Isn't that so fitting with this verse? Let go of trying to control a situation, or a person, or a troubling past, and let God handle it. Let God heal the wounds of the past that haunt you, or that you cling to and refuse to give up. God also tells us that "vengeance is Mine." When someone hurts us, we don't have to take revenge, but step aside and allow God to deal with them. And remember that He does it on His timetable, not ours. We may never see it, but just need to know that He will take care of it without our help. That leaves us free to do good works for Him.

Paul has said we are not to boast in another place, and yet here he says he would rather boast about his weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in him. This makes me think of the times I have been asked to do something for God, and like Moses and many others, I say that I can't do it, or I am afraid to do it as I have never done anything like that before. I can come up with all kinds of excuses. Isn't that like using my power to control what I do? But when I give up that control and do the job, it is really God's power giving me the ability to carry it out. He gives me the thoughts and words to write or say. He gives me the answers to questions that others ask me, and I had no idea what the answers were until they came out of my mouth! It can make me sound smart and full of knowledge and wisdom, but I am really neither one. I am nothing but the channel God is using. I can only pray that I don't interfere in the process and muddle the truth.