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.

It All Belongs to Him!

I went in for just a moment the other morning to say hello to my across the street grandkids before I headed to work. We visited for a moment but time flew by and I had to head for my car. This meant I needed my phone, which has become the grandkids’ personal play toy. Caleb was playing a game and not a bit interested in giving up the phone but I had to go! He continued to say “No, I don’t want to” quietly without making eye contact, but time was racing!




As his mother took it from his hands, he got angry! He let out a screaming growl of disapproval towards his mother. It was loud! It was not his will to hand over the phone. It was not his intention to have it pried from his fingers. And he let it be known. This otherwise quiet docile sweet faced angel changed in an instant!



Regardless of what he wanted the phone had to go with me. And I had to leave. His anger spread to a bit of chaos between brothers and sister. His frustration brought a room full of activity as everybody felt his anger and saw his response.



We adults laugh about such behavior, but we often mirror it. Our lives are just like we want them. Everything is in order, all our ducks are in a row and it’s all neat and tidy. We have our needs and most of our wants. We have our loved ones, our fun and our way. We’re playing our games and enjoying our life. We’re happy, kind and embraceable.



But let one thing ripple out of our order and we’re fit to be tied. We want to scream from the top of our lungs. We clench our teeth, stomp our feet and claim our rights. We become like children demanding things that don’t belong to us anyway. We forget that everything we have – everything – is from the generous hand of Almighty God. And since all we have is from Him everything must belong to Him not us.



Are you reeling from the loss of something most dear to your heart? Were you holding on very tightly and being very careful to keep close ties only to find it taken from your hand? Have you been having a tantrum with God? Have you been blaming Him, arguing with Him or screaming to high heaven about all you can’t hang onto?



Oh beloved, it’s time to quit rehearsing your loss, and start rejoicing in all that you have that cannot be taken from you! Every day is precious, every moment is a gift, and every sunrise is a new start. It’s time to stop feeling like a loser and start rehearsing the truth about your situation! You are a child of God! You are a blessed believer! You are a blood bought worshiper! Your Father has your very best interests in mind so that if He requires you to give up something, let Him have His way. Don’t make Him pry it from your fingers as though you are the owner! For you will find that it is only in the giving of everything to Him, including your very existence, that you can find true peace and happiness. Thank God for life, thank God for heaven, thank God for His Word and thank Him that He listens and answers and provides all we have need of forever and always.



God loves you, precious child, and He’s for you beloved believer, and that’s worth giving it all to Him!



Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.


Deuteronomy 10:14 Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the LORD your God.


Nehemiah 9:6 You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship You.


Colossians 3:2-4 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.


Psalm 25:1 O LORD, I give my life to You.

Do's and Don'ts - God says Don't...Worry!

I hear my children telling their children, “don’t do that” and “do this” a lot! They are teachers you know. Their life’s call for the next 18 or so years is to teach their children and guide them to be upstanding citizens. As Christians their job is to make citizens of heaven as well.  Teach. Teach. Teach.  Every opportunity is a chance to teach something.

There are a lot of do’s and don’ts in this world.  The church is no different.  We have do’s and don’ts as well.  Sometimes, if we’re not careful we’ll major on the minors and find ourselves walking in rules instead of restoration. Regardless, there are many things the Lord wants to teach us and His heart’s desire is to keep us safe from harm and fit us for heaven to live with Him there (as the song goes).

So what are some of the do’s and don’ts? I cannot begin to list them all but I can tell you a couple as they come to mind this morning. God definitely wants you to know how to walk in His precepts, so that you will walk straightly in a crooked world.  This is simply because He loves you, just as parents love their children.

God says to you this morning, “Don’t worry!”  Period.  He means it! His Word is full of His counsel and He never misspeaks or gives wrong advice. To worry is to wrangle something and wrangling just wears the body mind and spirit out!   Worry is the opposite of faith. Worry is the opposite of love. Worry denotes that something is so amiss that even God can’t fix it.  But, God Himself says to you “Don’t worry about ANYTHING”.  When you rehearse it, what has ever changed by your worry? Nothing! But faith is action! Faith in God changes everything!

Oh beloved, what a marvelous lesson in faith to learn today! Being prone to worry myself, I can tell you that rest comes when we lay it all down and our Heavenly Father says to you this morning, Quit worrying about things. Those things that are troubling you, vexing your spirit, weighing down your heart. I love you, I AM on your side and I AM the One Who guides and leads you into My will.  Trust replaces worry, and faith grows from trust.  Trust Me. For I have the entire universe in My Hands and nothing is too difficult for Me! My love combined with My Word is an impenetrable fortress for you.  I love you now, I will love you forever and I will see you through this world all the way to heaven! Now isn’t that worth praising Me and letting go of worry?  

Psalm 107:20 He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction. Amplified Bible

Psalm 37:1 “Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.”

Proverbs 12:25  Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Luke 12:25-27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

Psalm 16:8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.

I Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Philippians 4:6  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.