When We are Weak He is Strong
Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." - 2 Corinthians 12:9
This past month has been a very trying time in our family. On top of grieving it feels like there has been a slew of battles rising against us, like thorns in our flesh as Paul describes. There are times when I go to pray and feel like I have no more to pour out. I feel like I'm worn out of words and emotions. Have you ever felt like that? Like your heart still needs to cry out but you're just so tired all you can muster is His name? You read the words and go through the motions, but there's nothing left to say? That's the place where I am. I feel like I have prayed the same prayers everyday for the past 32 days, and today I am exhausted. Not physically or mentally, but spiritually and emotionally. It doesn't mean I have lost the desire to spend time with Him, I just have nothing left to say. It's uncomfortable. Like those times you try and strike up a conversation with somebody but don't know where to start.
I have always assumed the word "weakness" in the Bible referred to sin or temptation. For some reason I never thought of it as just being weary or weak. That's what this particular moment in time is for me, a time of weakness; all around exhaustion. Through this time of weakness, here's what I have come to a deeper understanding of and have become so thankful for:
A.) That holy spirit intercedes for us in our times of spiritual weakness.
B.) The importance of the body of Christ (or the church) who intercedes for us in times of emotional weakness.
Here's where that purpose of being filled with the Holy Spirit comes in to play. I know this topic can sometimes be controversial among believers, but let me tell you it has never been so important as it has been during this season. It is a beautiful and powerful tool that Jesus bestowed on us, as a deeper way for Him to connect with us. When we don't know what to say, the spirit says it for us. When we pray in the spirit (aka speaking in tongues) there's a shift in the way we pray. It conforms our hearts to His will. It transforms our human will and connects it with the will of God. It helps us to say "Not my will Lord, but yours". It teaches us to trust that He has a purpose.
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. - Romans 8:26-28
In the past month, there have been many times where I just had nothing to offer but tears. This is hard for me because I'm not normally an emotional person. This is part of being in a state of weakness. Not because of being emotional but being drained emotionally. These are times when all we can do as humans is be still. Here's where the purpose of the church comes in. The church is called to stand in the gap for our brothers and sisters when they're in the valley low. A perfect illustration of this is displayed in Exodus during the battle between the Iraelites and Amalekites. Moses stood upon the hill with Aaron and Hur, holding the the staff of God in his hands. As long as he held up his hands, the Israelites had the advantage, but when he dropped them the Amalekites would then gain the advantage. Scripture then goes on to tell us:
Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.- Exodus 17:12&13
This scene of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses' arms paints, for me, a picture of how we hold up our brothers and sisters when we intercede for them. This is the scenario I have seen over the past 32 days while multitudes have prayed for my brother's family. This is what happens when we stand in the gap for someone, we hold up their arms when they can't. We pray for peace when they can't. We pray them through the battle when they're exhausted. We pray for strength when they're in their weakness. This is what the body of Christ has done, and continues to do.
His power works best in our weakness because we allow Him to become more. We become less in the fact that we are weak. We are not trying to do it on our own because we just lack the energy. We are forced to be still and know that He is who is says He is. We are forced in to a sense of vulnerablilty because all we can do is rest in His grace. But the beauty that happens from being in this place, is the realization that He takes care of us. Whether it's by the spirit, or by the people he uses, He proves just how near He is. Every single moment He is with us. That is the grace and unwavering faithfulness of our Lord.
He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever. - Psalm 136:23
This past month has been a very trying time in our family. On top of grieving it feels like there has been a slew of battles rising against us, like thorns in our flesh as Paul describes. There are times when I go to pray and feel like I have no more to pour out. I feel like I'm worn out of words and emotions. Have you ever felt like that? Like your heart still needs to cry out but you're just so tired all you can muster is His name? You read the words and go through the motions, but there's nothing left to say? That's the place where I am. I feel like I have prayed the same prayers everyday for the past 32 days, and today I am exhausted. Not physically or mentally, but spiritually and emotionally. It doesn't mean I have lost the desire to spend time with Him, I just have nothing left to say. It's uncomfortable. Like those times you try and strike up a conversation with somebody but don't know where to start.
I have always assumed the word "weakness" in the Bible referred to sin or temptation. For some reason I never thought of it as just being weary or weak. That's what this particular moment in time is for me, a time of weakness; all around exhaustion. Through this time of weakness, here's what I have come to a deeper understanding of and have become so thankful for:
A.) That holy spirit intercedes for us in our times of spiritual weakness.
B.) The importance of the body of Christ (or the church) who intercedes for us in times of emotional weakness.
Here's where that purpose of being filled with the Holy Spirit comes in to play. I know this topic can sometimes be controversial among believers, but let me tell you it has never been so important as it has been during this season. It is a beautiful and powerful tool that Jesus bestowed on us, as a deeper way for Him to connect with us. When we don't know what to say, the spirit says it for us. When we pray in the spirit (aka speaking in tongues) there's a shift in the way we pray. It conforms our hearts to His will. It transforms our human will and connects it with the will of God. It helps us to say "Not my will Lord, but yours". It teaches us to trust that He has a purpose.
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. - Romans 8:26-28
In the past month, there have been many times where I just had nothing to offer but tears. This is hard for me because I'm not normally an emotional person. This is part of being in a state of weakness. Not because of being emotional but being drained emotionally. These are times when all we can do as humans is be still. Here's where the purpose of the church comes in. The church is called to stand in the gap for our brothers and sisters when they're in the valley low. A perfect illustration of this is displayed in Exodus during the battle between the Iraelites and Amalekites. Moses stood upon the hill with Aaron and Hur, holding the the staff of God in his hands. As long as he held up his hands, the Israelites had the advantage, but when he dropped them the Amalekites would then gain the advantage. Scripture then goes on to tell us:
Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.- Exodus 17:12&13
This scene of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses' arms paints, for me, a picture of how we hold up our brothers and sisters when we intercede for them. This is the scenario I have seen over the past 32 days while multitudes have prayed for my brother's family. This is what happens when we stand in the gap for someone, we hold up their arms when they can't. We pray for peace when they can't. We pray them through the battle when they're exhausted. We pray for strength when they're in their weakness. This is what the body of Christ has done, and continues to do.
His power works best in our weakness because we allow Him to become more. We become less in the fact that we are weak. We are not trying to do it on our own because we just lack the energy. We are forced to be still and know that He is who is says He is. We are forced in to a sense of vulnerablilty because all we can do is rest in His grace. But the beauty that happens from being in this place, is the realization that He takes care of us. Whether it's by the spirit, or by the people he uses, He proves just how near He is. Every single moment He is with us. That is the grace and unwavering faithfulness of our Lord.
He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever. - Psalm 136:23
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