A sapling's lesson in strength - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Originally written January 16, 2006; edited March 2015

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 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.
 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV

When Katrina blew through the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coasts in August 2005, she left a gruesome wake of damage, not just in the three states hit, but also extending into Florida and Texas. When we visited my mom's side of the family for Christmas that year, I was able to see the damage along the Mississippi coast firsthand, and I was flabbergasted! Despite ongoing clean up efforts, the magnitude of Katrina's devastation seemed omnipresent even four months later. Houses and entire neighborhoods were obliterated. Miles inland were flooded or destroyed. Debris was still everywhere. The pictures just didn't do it justice!

On our way to the family Christmas gathering, which was 15-20 miles inland, we passed acres upon acres of woods, which were littered with remnants of Katrina's force. One home in particular left a lasting impression. The property looked like a war zone! Big, huge trees were snapped in half or completely uprooted with the mass of its roots left dangling in the air. It was unbelievable to see these massive trees blown over like a row of dominoes. And yet, there was a stark contrast on this property. While the enormous, old trees lay destroyed or uprooted, a vast majority of the little weak trees - the saplings - stood rooted and firm in the ground. They miraculously managed to withstand the storm's destructive winds.

Sure enough, the further we drove, the more common this sight became. Big trees uprooted or split in pieces, while the little, weak trees remained. Apparently, the small trees had one thing going for them that their huge counterparts didn't: their small trunks were weak. This weakness meant their trunks were more flexible and pliable so that they could bend, not snap in two, in the force of the wind. In this particular storm, the saplings' weakness proved to be their strength. Their weakness was God's grace to them. 

Mile after mile, acre after acre, the Lord kept driving this point home: in their weakness was their strength. In their weakness was their strength. Paul's words were vividly coming to life before my eyes. In the midst of pain, suffering, hardships, calamities, weaknesses, and insults, it's easy to let this truth fade from the forefront of our minds, isn't it?!

Yet the truth remains. "When I am weak, then I am strong."

Scripture is not clear on what Paul's weakness or thorn was, but the truth about which Paul writes applies to other followers of Christ, regardless of our thorns. There is a reason we are given "thorns." It could be to keep us humble, to cause us to rely on God and not ourselves, to strengthen us, to remind us that His grace is sufficient, or for some other reason we may never understand this side of eternity. Yet one thing is abundantly clear in this passage: our God is sovereign over all things, including our thorns, hardships, weaknesses, and calamities, and if you're a follower of Christ, He will always be moving in and through your weaknesses, your hardships, your persecutions, your thorns. In fact, by God's grace, you may discover what the little trees discovered during Katrina: it is your weakness that becomes your strength.

As I reflect on this scene in processing some of my own weaknesses and hardships, I am encouraged to go before the Lord to seek His help on seeing Paul's perspective. I pray you will, too. May we see them for what they are... a gift... "a thorn was given me in the flesh," and that thorn keeps us in constant touch with our limitations and our need for a Savior. We are desperately in need of God's grace. Always!

I am convicted by this thought of these weaknesses, thorns, hardships, calamities, persecutions, insults... limitations... as being gifts given. I need to quit focusing on the handicap and struggle they bring, real and difficult though it may be, and start also appreciating the gift that comes with it. Like the saplings, maybe this weakness is God's provision for my survival, His grace to me... His blessed protection that I just can't see or understand this side of the storm.

My prayer today is that you and I don't resist our limitations, weaknesses, and hardships so much as we allow them to push us to our knees, surrendering them and letting Jesus take control. I pray that in that process as Christ's power rests on you, and in due time, we will learn to be content as we begin to see how the Lord uses them as a magnifying glass for His power (and our ultimate good).

"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.

His grace IS sufficient. He is all we need. How I need to believe and trust this more.

Thankful for weakness and the grace (and protection) it gives me... or trying to be,
Jessica

A windy ride - Romans 8:28

Originally written April 22, 2004; edited March 2015

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 ESV

Several years ago I was able to spend the summer living and working with my brother, Garrett, in Gunnison, Colorado. During my time there and at the encouragement of my adventurous brother, I discovered a new hobby: road biking. Not only was it great exercise, but it also provided me with an amazing new way to enjoy God's breath-taking creation that surrounded me in the Gunnison Valley. I most often rode alone and loved to ride down new roads to explore, camera in tow. I also enjoyed taking a familiar path to the river with a book, journal, and pen to find a peaceful spot along the riverbank to read, write, and just soak in the beauty of the Lord.

One such ride left an imprint on my heart that I think of often. The day was absolutely brilliant... the Carolina-blue skies with not a cloud to seen, a bright sun was shining glistening off the river, and there was a wonderful breeze. It was one of those days I just wanted to soak in. So, I chose one of my favorite routes that led to the river's edge and off I went.

When riding a bike, even a slight wind can make your ride a bit more difficult. Therefore, my attitude towards the "wonderful breeze" changed rather quickly. From my perspective on a bike trying to plow through the breeze, it was turning into quite a windy ride making me strain much harder than I usually did on this path. This in turn led to some grumbling, and I let God know I would greatly appreciate it if He could calm the winds, since after all I knew He could, so I could no longer be distracted by the burden of the wind and could once again just enjoy the scenery and ride.

Shortly after this internal dialogue ensued, I came upon a curve in the road. As I rounded the bend, I was no longer in the wind. HALLELUJAH! The wind had ceased! Praise the Lord!

Relieved, I pedaled along... but then I started to get hot... really hot... miserably hot. I just thought the wind was bad! The heat was 10 times worse! Before I knew it, I was begging for the wind again.

Then it clicked. There was a reason for the wind; it fit into God's plan for good, not harm.

The wind served as God's provision to protect me from the heat. It also provided some added resistance to help build and strengthen my muscles. Yes, that meant more effort and strain, but the resistance was working together for a good outcome. And I'm sure the list could go on! Regardless of the reason, it became clear that God had sent the wind to bless, not burden me and that He knew why the wind was needed, even when I couldn't understand its presence and simply felt annoyed, bothered, and burdened by it.

I often try to remember this ride whenever I encounter fierce winds in life. Maybe these "winds" are sent to protect me from the heat of something else. Maybe they are being used to develop strength, endurance, faith, trust, hope, some other fruit of the Spirit in me, or another reason altogether. Whatever the reason, Scripture speaks loud and clear to the fact that trials of various kinds will come, but that when they do, even then God is sovereign over everything. Furthermore, because I have been called, I can know and trust that all things will work together for good. Maybe I simply haven't turned the corner of understanding to see how the Lord is working these things together for good.

Whatever the circumstance, my windy ride reminds me to trust the Lord and remember His promises... that for those who love God and are called according to His purposes, all things work together for good, even the windiest of trials.

Pressing on,
Jessica

Verses to reference:
John 16:33
2 Corinthians 4:17
James 1:2-4
1 Peter 1:6-7
1 Peter 5:6-7
Psalm 71:20