What caused the apostle Paul to write, "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness...I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me...for when I am weak, then I am strong"?
Perhaps he had learned the glory of pain.
Perhaps he had learned the sacrifice of praise.
Perhaps he had learned the strength of weakness.
Perhaps he had learned the brokenness of healing.
In a rough paraphrase, someone once wrote, "The circumstances of life are sacraments of God's will." What a beautiful picture...every-day events of our lives, however large or miniscule, are living, breathing, visible manifestations of an invisible Father. His love, His sovereignty, His mercy, His faithfulness, His very Presence.
The past weeks have been filled with praying through and processing the events of this semester, of the last 4 and 1/2 years, and of all of (my short) life. And I have been brought back to this one, over-riding Truth that has governed my best intentions, my greatest attempts, my feeble understanding, my pervasive self-righteousness: Weakness.
The pain, confusion, and frustration of past choices, present circumstances, and future dreams have brought me again and again into the presence of the One Who loved me and gave Himself for me. The One Who heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds. The One Who is well pleased with the sacrifices of a broken and a contrite heart. In God's Sovereignty, they have brought me to one conclusion and allowed me to stray to no other: my complete and utter weakness. In every arena of life.
A good friend brought to my attention the utter difficulty of ministering when you feel as though your heart is breaking, your soul is in turmoil, and your spirit is shattered. He's right. It is incredibly difficult. But I have come to realize that brokenness precedes healing; and I am beginning to learn that pain is not innately bad. Suffering happens by virtue of life. It is our response to that pain that dictates its results. And oh, the comfort of the Cross! To be rooted and grounded in His love, to be in His presence, is nothing but fullness of joy. The questions and cries of a pain-filled heart need no answers...only Christ and His love. For He is the true Solution, the only Solution.
Perhaps he had learned the glory of pain.
Perhaps he had learned the sacrifice of praise.
Perhaps he had learned the strength of weakness.
Perhaps he had learned the brokenness of healing.
In a rough paraphrase, someone once wrote, "The circumstances of life are sacraments of God's will." What a beautiful picture...every-day events of our lives, however large or miniscule, are living, breathing, visible manifestations of an invisible Father. His love, His sovereignty, His mercy, His faithfulness, His very Presence.
The past weeks have been filled with praying through and processing the events of this semester, of the last 4 and 1/2 years, and of all of (my short) life. And I have been brought back to this one, over-riding Truth that has governed my best intentions, my greatest attempts, my feeble understanding, my pervasive self-righteousness: Weakness.
The pain, confusion, and frustration of past choices, present circumstances, and future dreams have brought me again and again into the presence of the One Who loved me and gave Himself for me. The One Who heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds. The One Who is well pleased with the sacrifices of a broken and a contrite heart. In God's Sovereignty, they have brought me to one conclusion and allowed me to stray to no other: my complete and utter weakness. In every arena of life.
A good friend brought to my attention the utter difficulty of ministering when you feel as though your heart is breaking, your soul is in turmoil, and your spirit is shattered. He's right. It is incredibly difficult. But I have come to realize that brokenness precedes healing; and I am beginning to learn that pain is not innately bad. Suffering happens by virtue of life. It is our response to that pain that dictates its results. And oh, the comfort of the Cross! To be rooted and grounded in His love, to be in His presence, is nothing but fullness of joy. The questions and cries of a pain-filled heart need no answers...only Christ and His love. For He is the true Solution, the only Solution.
Paul's theology of weakness is paradoxical indeed--and so typically Christ-pre-eminent. The failures of life, confusing circumstances, physical infirmities, discouragement, past decisions: we shrink at these, pull back, fear, doubt, waver. Paul not only accepted them, he embraced them! To what end? Paul walked in the reality that only in our weakness can we truly ever be strong. His live exemplified, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Not, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, keep grinning and bearing it. Rather, accept your weakness, acknowledge it, even exult in it. For the strength of Almighty God comes to meet us in our weakness. Only ever in our weakness are we strong--for then we are Divinely enabled and empowered. "To those that have no might He increases strength."
To summarize this lengthy post, God is glorified in our weakness. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us."
May we learn the glory of pain.
May we learn the sacrifice of praise.
May we learn the strength of weakness.
May we learn the brokenness of healing.
"Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that aknowledge His name. " Heb. 13:15
4 comments:
You know Rae, I think the deeper your wounds the more your capacity to enjoy and be satisfied in Christ, because you need Him so much more...though perhaps when you aren't enjoying Christ you hurt that much more, also...
Amen, dear friend.
Hope in His Word...
Rae, I praise the Lord for doing this work of lovingly humbling you to show you His strength. It's something I too desperately need...the Lord is so good to us. I love Piper's observations in Don't Waste Your Life that God loves us by doing whatever it takes to bring us to Himself (because that's what is best for us), even though it usually pains us temporarily. "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God..."
I love you and I'm praying for you, my friend. It is so good to hear from you! And I am really looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks! (Did you get my e-card? If not, here's the news: I'm coming back this semester! Yay!) I pray that you will continue bringing your weakness to God and glorying in His strength...oh, how I need to do the same!
Thanks for the reminder.
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