2013-09-06
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Since salvation doesn’t depend on anything a human can do or supply, we should never boast about anyone, except God [1 COR 2: 26-27] Who alone supplied it through His Son’s Atonement. Last week, we were reminded of some examples of God’s superhuman strength by what happened in Jericho when the walls came down [JS 6: 20], how Samson defeated an army with the jaw bone of a donkey [JG 15: 15] and other feats, which included how our Lord Jesus fed the 5000 with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish [MT 14: 17-21]. In the previous weeks, we saw how our weakness reveals God’s strength.
Another way of expressing this concept is that God will exchange our disabilities for His abilities. None of us likes to feel weak and ineffectual, but it happens at times for God’s reasons. It’s necessary for us to be alert to this possibility when it exists. 1 COR 1: 30-31, “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’” Truthfully, I wasn’t aware in the beginning of what happened to me back in 2000 when I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease that would have some major impact on my life. It destroyed the sensory nerves in both my feet, giving rise to constant nerve pain in them, which I have 24/7. I was also left with sore salivary glands that didn’t work well and with balance issues. The day I was diagnosed and told that my problems would be with me for the rest of my earthly life. I was upset, angry, and deeply concerned about how this would impact me and others around me-- particularly my husband, Peter. It was not so much self-pity as it was the realization of my own mortality and the fact that Peter would now have to take over some physical responsibilities around the house that I could no longer do. It was afterward, that I apologized to God and turned to Him in humble prayer in my weakness.
My Lord came through for me in ways I had never imagined! He knew that I was finally willing to acknowledge His greater strength and His loving heart for me. I was not giving up, as a part of me wants to do as much as possible to go on with life and not be more of a burden to others than is absolutely necessary. The first five years after my diagnosis were ones when God made it necessary for me to stop singing with choirs, something I had done for the previous 40 years. My initial upset was changed when I saw the ministry He was giving me in exchange for this-a ministry to serve by writing about Him to my many readers, to teach His word, to be involved in care activities, to do research for my writing –leading me to getting to know Him better, to continue serving Him (until last year) leading our congregation’s huge prayer chain, and to use my knitting and crocheting skills in making prayer shawls etc. for those who are ill and need them. The Lord had placed me among people who, by their examples, teach me to be a better, more genuine believer. He reminded me every time I see a person who is wheelchair-bound that He made it possible for me to be in the care of doctors who knew how to keep the damage from my illness from reaching my motor nerves. While I can walk, I can’t walk far or stand in place for long. But, my Lord taught me that I can serve Him and do chores around the house sitting that others do standing. There are devices like my electric cart (obtained, of all places, at the MN State Fair one year) to make shopping and other necessary activities possible. I walk with a cane, so that I will reduce the chances of falling due to balance problems. My doctor ordered me to keep off of ladders, after I foolishly fell, breaking my leg on two occasions. Still, my life is a living testament of strength obtained from God by virtue of my covenant relationship with Him through faith in His Son. Without Him, I would have no life, no happiness, and certainly no strength to serve [1 COR 3: 9].
We need to examine how God sees any genuine believer in Christ. If we look at 1 COR 3: 16-17, we begin to see. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you? I anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred and you are that temple.” We can see that our Covenant Partner has the same enemies that we have. Moreover, even if one’s family members won’t come to his defense in a time of trouble, his Covenant Partner will! Now, let’s look further into God’s attitude. COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ, and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory!” Talk about blessings! He will share what is most cherished by Him, His glory, with us. And all we have to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus, open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, and live according to God’s will. Nothing we did bought our salvation, but His most excellent grace and our faith in Christ has done this for us. Our Covenant Partner is our best Defense against to dirty work of the devil, and in His strength, we can have confidence by virtue of our covenant relationship with Him.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are here at Your mighty throne, weak and unable to do anything worthwhile without Your intervention. Our hearts are open to You, in awe of Your strength and righteousness. We want to serve You and live according to Your will. It is often hard for us, and our initial reactions to trouble often disappoint You. As You guide us, we see Your righteous strength revealed because of our covenant with You. We humbly ask for Your guidance. PS 86: 11-13, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify Your name forever more. For great is Your mercy toward me; and You have delivered my soul from the depths of the grave.” We are weak and tempted to let human desire drive our thoughts and actions without You. With You, we can work through our hardships, losses, disappointments, and temptations to sin---all the time gaining the strength You want us to have. We beseech You to guide us, so that our examples while still on earth can benefit others and that we leave behind us the legacy of Your choice that is long-lasting beyond our physical lives. We acknowledge Your loving, compassionate, patient, generous, and kind heart for us. 1K 8: 23, “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven above or earth below—You Who keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way.” With these words spoken by Solomon so long ago, we are so grateful to have You, our Covenant Partner, in our lives. We listen carefully for You during prayer and at other times; we seek You out often for the lessons You have for us. Our hearts are full of praise and thanks to You. We offer this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit demands that I write about how to appropriate the strength God has to give us. It is necessary for us to become dependant on our Deity without being a drag on other humans. There are ways for us to do this, by changing our attitudes and our actions. Habits are hard to break, but some of them must be broken-things like forgetting to go to the Lord first when trouble hits, or not looking for lessons He has for us. Relying on human wisdom is a temptation that must be met with strength of faith and willingness to seek out our Covenant Partner. There are times when we need encouragement, and the Lord is willing to give it to those willing to trust in Him. Consider PS 31: 22-24, “In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from Your sight.’ Yet You heard my cry for mercy when I called to You for help. Love the Lord, all His faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are faithful to Him, but the proud He pays back in full. Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the Lord.” Our willingness to trust in the Lord really matters to Him. PS 62: 7-8, “My salvation and my honor depend on God. He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge. Trust in the Him at all times, you People; pour out Your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge.” When we do pour out our hearts to Him genuinely, He listens, considers our situation, and takes appropriate action. He knows that we mature most effectively when we are working out challenges in our lives, which is why He allows them. However, He is watching us from heaven and will never allow the devil’s work to beleaguer us beyond the point where we lose our resolve to remain faithful to Himself [PS 33: 13; 1 COR 10: 13]. We are encouraged to remain firm in our faith and in our obedience to God’s will. And when we do this, we are richly blessed by Him. With blessings, come responsibilities-things like keeping our own faith strong by studying His word and actively/frequently praying, sharing our faith with other believers, and looking for and acting on opportunities to witness to non-believers willing to listen/engage with us. Our God deserves our forever praise and thanks for Who He is and what He does!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2013. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives