Wednesdays in the Word
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I pondered on the thought of God being our strength in weakness back in May. I wondered how God could be our strength in weakness. Because when we are weak, we have to find the strength to choose God in our weakness. Does this make sense? When you are at your lowest point, you have to find the strength to reach up. But how can you find strength to do this when you are so weak? In May, I found myself being too weak to choose God to be my strength. So I wondered... how can I make myself strong in the Lord in my weakness?
This is where training comes in. When life is going great, we think we can just sit back and enjoy the ride. But really, times of prosperity and strength are crucial to your faith development. It is in times of prosperity when you must really give yourself to the Lord and make habits of it. For then when you become weak, it is natural to choose the Lord to be your strength. For example, at 3am when I was still doing homework. And all the thread from my geometry project became tangled, I was weak. I could have gotten frustrated and acted out. But because I was faithful in my training in the good times, I found myself singing "It is well with my soul." If I hadn't trained and been faithful in the good times, then I would not have had the instinct of giving myself to the Lord in this time of weakness.
So train in prosperity, so the Lord can be strength in weakness. Then when you are strong in weakness, you can boast in the Lord and give all glory to him. This idea may not make sense, as it is very confusing. But it has been a thought that has festered in my mind all summer long. So think on this for awhile and let me know your thoughts.
I love this!
Joy and thankfulness and praise in all circumstances is 1. a choice and 2. obedience to the Lord. People often think that joy, thankfulness, and praise of the Lord is a byproduct of our obedience to God...That if we are obedient, these things will follow. But have we forgotten that it's a command from God to be thankful in all circumstances? Therefore, joy (in God) in all circumstances IS obedience to God! Not simply a secondary result of it.
Love you, roommate! And I love that you actually live out your words.
-Sheep #2
Jacs this is so great and encouraging to read. It's something we always need to be reminded of. We need to still find God's strength in the good times, so that we're able to see it in the hard times. Something I definitely needed to hear. Thank you for sharing :)