Your Weakness is His Opportunity to Shine!

I haven’t done much sewing in a lot of years. But I am making Stella a Christmas dress. Am making is a loose term for half of it is cut out and the other half is laying on the table. The sewing machine is yet to be set up and right now it’s just a dream in my mind. I can see how I want it to be, but nothing’s really formed yet. Since “dress up Sunday” is this week-end I have precious little time left to get it all together. I have a backup plan in case my dreams don’t make it to reality but tonight my plan is to get that little sweety’s dress finished.

Christmas is a great time to overload the hours with preparations. It’s that wonderful opportunity to bring out the best in the closets and the best in us. Sometimes, though, when I go through the Christmas decorations I find that somewhere along the way things have gotten broken or ripped or become tattered. It requires fixing, gluing or deciding if it’s going to make it into this year’s adornment. Some things don’t really look worthy to be seen. The worn and not so pretty ornaments remind us of our own not so perfect self. If we’re not careful we’ll look at our less than Martha Stewart holiday preparations and pronounce ourselves unfit for display. The tendency is to want Norman Rockwell to paint us and House Beautiful to highlight us, but life is messy. Most of us want to pull Christmas off without a hitch but imperfection abounds and life happens even while we’re having fun.

We’re not worthy. We’re not capable. We can’t pull this thing called life off without a hitch. We try to sew things up, glue the brokenness and patch the missing pieces but still we find ourselves less than. We’ll try to straighten ourselves up, dust ourselves off, start over again and work harder, do more, and hide the hurts, anguish and pain. But we’re still broken and we need something more than we can produce with our own hands to fix it all. We need someone else to come into our mess and make things right.

God speaks to my heart: Your weakness is My opportunity to showcase my glory. Stop worrying about the 'less thans' and look to Me, for I AM more than. I am more than a Savior, I am your wonderful counselor, your everlasting Father, and the prince of peace. I have come so that you can have life more abundantly than you can produce on your own. I AM the Mighty God. I am your protector, provider and repairer. I specialize in restoring people. I AM capable of taking everything broken, bent out of shape and unfit for sight and making it all new – including you. Look again at the less than perfect décor and let it all remind you that you are My precious child, perfected in Christ. Everything you lack is found in Me. In everything that you are declared unfit in this world I over-stamp with my seal of approval. You are precious in My sight and your days are numbered. But not so that you can worry that you won’t get it all done, but so you can rest in Me while you work. Relax, and know that I AM able to let My light shine through everything you do.

Oh beloved, the weakness you see in yourself is simply a beautiful decoration to show forth the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. If you don’t get it all done, don’t worry for He did! Let yourself enjoy the holidays and the preparation and the giving and whatever else your hand has to do, for His greatest blessing is when you let Him shine His glory through you for the world to see. He loves you and He’s for you and that makes things right all through the years.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.

John 14:1 Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.

Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Psalm 57:2 I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.

Have You Had a Near Death Experience?

Danny does a lot of driving. Between the motorcycle trips and the work trips, he’s on the road a lot. A few days ago he was headed to Little Rock on I30 and had a near death experience. He had gone over a hill and was in the far left lane (of 3 lanes) when a large pickup came into traffic from the on ramp on the right. The driver proceeded to keep going until she was coming into the same lane as Danny. He had nowhere to go, so he jammed on the brakes. It sent his car careening and he went off on the shoulder and the car shuddered back into the highway. As she drove by she nonchalantly waved her hand as he was still trying to gain control of the situation.  She drove on, content with herself.

Thankfully God provided the way out and Danny was able to get the car under control and back onto the highway. He did pull off on the nearest exit and catch his breath to settle his nerves.  He was worn out and shook up - partly because he had to work so hard not to wreck but also because the driver of the truck was so uncaring.

Some of us are like the pickup driver.  We are intent on going where we want to go; we’ve decided what we want and how we’re going to get it. So we just don’t care what happens to anyone else.  We are truly an accident waiting to happen, but as long as we get our way and drive on, we don’t care.

Others of us are in Danny’s situation. We are driving along, having a good trip, enjoying the ride and viewing the blessings when out of nowhere along comes someone or something barreling toward us.  We have nowhere to go, the impact is imminent and the outcome is certain. 

If we are the pickup driver in life, we need to slow down and ask God to make us more aware of those around us. We need to ask Him to teach us to love like He loves and travel with grace in the traffic of life.  If we only look out for Number 1, we’ll cause accidents and leave people wounded and dying in the ditch.  Even if we only look ahead, wave them off and go on, there’s a payday someday.

If we're the one who's the victim of the careless driver, we have two things we can do.  We can become bitter, refuse to drive again and stay home, lick our wounds and complain about the culprit. Bitterness breeds bitterness.  Or we can call the wrecker service, God's Holy Spirit and ask Him to help us look beyond the incident.  We have to know that regardless of what the mess looks like, we too will have a payday someday.  Our rewards don't come from the hand of man, but rather from the heart of God. It's like Charles Spurgeon once said, "I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages."

Oh beloved, God knows the near death experiences you’ve had. Someone has pronounced death to your marriage, your family, your job, your future, your ministry. They’ve driven into your lane and are intent on removing you from the roadway.  They’ve been careless with God’s love, God’s will and God’s Word. It’s a scene from a horror movie.

Except that the King of the Universe is your EMT.  He was on the scene before you got onto the highway. He was on the scene before the other vehicle entered the lane of your life. He’s staying on the scene with you for the rest of your days.

And if you will trust Him, He will take the hurtful wrecks of life and use them for His Glory and your good.  Never forget beloved that it’s not about you or the other person, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Just hang tightly to the Lord and let Him make provision for you. Your life is in His hands and that means your entire life. No one can swipe you out of God’s will because He loves you and He’s for you and it’s His will to keep you going and give you a life worth living for Him.

Isaiah 46:4 I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

1 Peter 2:15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.

Isaiah 50:7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.

Romans 8:28 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Romans 8:31 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.