The Wealth Of Weakness

"Do you want nothing? Then, I fear you do not know your poverty.  Have you no mercy to ask of God?  Then, may the Lord's mercy show you your misery."  Charles Spurgeon   

 Over the past few weeks I have become ever sure of one fact, I am weak. This fact has haunted me like the guilt of an un-repented sin, constantly rearing its ugly face at me. In work, in play, in worship, and in study, I was constantly confronted with the reality that my attempts to grow are constantly thwarted by my frailty. As I lamented my lack of progress the Lord was gracious and met me in my time of need and said words that rang sweetly in my ears:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

                  There I was looking  at the Lenten season, bemoaning my frailty only to be reminded that my awareness of my weak position was exactly where I needed to be. As I read about Paul’s thorn and remembered the words of Jesus from Matthew 5, I was reminded that what was once great sorrow became great joy. Joy not in weakness itself, simply as a defense mechanism, but joy in the knowledge that as a Christian I am wedded to one who takes weak men and women and makes them strong. I became overjoyed in the reality that through Jesus I had been brought into relationship with a Father that longs for his children to realize their great need and run to Him. My lament had fogged my view but the Holy Spirit was gracious and revealed to me that rather than lament my weakness I should bring it to God in prayer. Once again, I had begun to look to closely at myself and missed the provision of the Gospel.  I had missed the presence of God’s unending gift, prayer.

                   Through the Holy Spirit I began to see that for the Christian, prayer is an act of admittance, admittance of our weakness. In prayer, we admire a God who has shown Himself strong, and we notice that we fall short in comparison. In prayer, we reveal gratitude for a God that is not distant, standing above his creation, but a God who is very near, having shown Himself in the beauty of creation and the mundane moments of our everyday lives. Therefore, because we understand our weakness and know that God is both powerful and strong we entreat God to take our weakness and use it for His glory, that His power, beauty and salvation may be seen by the world through us!   

                  Village church, as we step into this season of Lent let us not lay aside the comforts of life in our own strength, rather let us admit our great need and seek communion with Him who finds wealth in weakness.