The Weak Rely Upon His Strength

The strength of the Lord can see you through every trial and illness.

I woke up this morning feeling tired, achy and soon thereafter I found myself coughing. I’m not surprised, because all winter long I’ve been the “family nurse” as my wife and our boys went through illness after illness. Just last week my wife had foot surgery, so I found myself transporting our children back and forth to school and running shopping errands.

Any kind of illness can lead to a spiritual battle, as weak bodily defenses make it difficult to concentrate or fight off the attacks of the devil. Our infernal enemy will frequently use our weakest moments against us, tempting us to snap at those we love or retreat into a world that excludes everyone including God.

The apostle Paul looked at problems in a way that should help the rest of us consider what we’re going through. Paul recognized that his problems (and he had many of them) were opportunities to let God work through Him:

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong — 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NIV).

When we’re strong, we tend to rely upon our strength, not God. We forget that God is the One who has given us strength in the first place even if our bodily exercise, self discipline and determination seem to be what drives us.

Usually only when we age (and begin to lose our strength) or have a debilitating illness or accident (and our strength is suddenly removed) do we fully appreciate how God works through us. The tendency of the young and virulent is to tell God, “I’ll handle this one!” when a mild problem comes about. But, when an illness or crisis hits, we soon realize that our weakness makes us strong because we draw upon Him who ultimately strengthens us.

Thankfully, a couple of Advils are making it easier for me to get my work done today. But, I’m also thankful for His testings as the visible fruit of His righteousness working through me testifies of God’s goodness no matter what my circumstances may be.

Photo Credit: Evah Smit

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