2 Corinthians 12:9

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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

My prayers today are going up for someone I know who is greatly afflicted with a modern illness of anxiety. At least, it seems to be a modern illness when it happens to the point of completely and totally disabling a person. I think our young people are dealing more with this affliction more than in past generations. This young person needs the Lord, but cannot see that. But, I do. It is a terrible thing to find oneself so anxious about life, that stepping outside a door becomes an impossibility. We do live in stressful days. Covid-19 seems to have added this stress to many people, of many ages. We are afflicted. The Apostle Paul was afflicted with something as well, though we never read what that affliction exactly was. What he was told was that God’s grace was sufficient. In other words, God would carry him when he could not carry himself. Neither the enemy of his soul, or the enemy of his body would prevail. In fact, God took it even further and told Paul that the more harshly and violently he was tried, the greater God’s strength would be shown through his weakness. Paul then would rather deal with this affliction than be healed so that God’s power through Christ Jesus would rest upon him. How often we look for answers, for solutions, for resolutions to our problems and sicknesses! Paul does not do that here, but instead rests in his sickness so that the glory of God would be displayed! I pray that I too would have the courage of Paul if great sickness should come upon me, that my sickness would show the glory and power of my Lord!

Pastor Julia


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t
Read more

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the
Read more