Strength in Weakness

 (This is actually something I wrote quite a while ago but felt that I should share it with you.  I hope it is encouraging to you. God is so very faithful.)

“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 in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

One of the areas that I am extremely weak in is time. I just don’t do time! I am not usually aware of it passing by and am quite shocked sometimes when I find out how much of it has passed by! So it is quite funny of God to use me to do something in His perfect timing. This whole story is about weakness and strength, who has it and who doesn’t and what God really considers to be strength.

In April or May of 2005 I happened to be at a Christian book store and felt God leading me to buy one of my favorite children’s books for this really cool boy. It makes me smile to even think about him. He is the third son in the family of my then music minister, the sixth out of seven children and the second or third to be adopted. (He and one of his sisters were adopted at the same time.)

Anyway, I bought the book and prayerfully wrote a note in it. And then I lost it!! (Organization is another one of my weaknesses!) I thought surely it would turn up and hoped that we would find it for his birthday. No, his birthday went by and I felt guilty that we hadn’t done anything for him. Then in early November, almost a month after his birthday I happened upon the book!! Later that week, God made it a priority of my day to make friendship bread, which seemed odd to me but I don’t always understand what God has me do. After I was obedient to begin making the bread (which is really more like a cinnamon cake) God revealed to me that it was supposed to be for this boy. Furthermore, it seemed that God was moving me to make sure he got the friendship bread and the book that very day. So I wrapped the book in gold paper with a red ribbon and put a “happy extremely belated birthday” note on it and my wonderful husband became the belated delivery man.

God doesn’t always let me see the reason for things that He asks of me but this time He had more for me to learn and more blessing for me to receive. (Plus, I think that He must have wanted this story to be told! Maybe you are the one who needs to hear it!) The very next evening, his wonderful mother and I happened to be at a conference together and she shared with me what happened at their house and why he needed that book at that time. How God ministered to him through this gift.

Earlier that week a friend of his had told him that he was weak and would never be able to take anyone down. You must know that there is no male alive, man or boy, who wants to be called weak. It was a hard blow for a ten year old boy and caused him a bit of turmoil. Although, it was not a nice thing to voice it probably seemed a logical thing to think to this friend for this boy has what most people looking at him would consider a weakness. He has two arms but one is ‘to the elbow’ length with only a partial hand at the end.

The book that I got for him is “The Weak Strongman”. It is about Samson and how although everyone looked at him and thought he was strong, which he was physically, where God looks, at the heart, Samson was very weak. I wrote in this book to this boy that I believed that God was making him into a “strong man” of the most important kind and that I prayed that he would always choose to follow God. God is doing this in this boy’s life. In fact, he is like a king in the old testament which 2 Chronicles 34 says “while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father”. When I saw this boy walking down the hall at my church, or participating in some church activity, I didn't see weakness, I saw the blessing of an awesome, infallible God and I smiled, inside and out, for I think his life brings God much joy!

That seemed to be such a good ending but I must tell you the lesson that God wanted me to learn from this. I’ve told you about two of my biggest weaknesses but I haven’t told you about one of my biggest fears…. failure. God has been telling me and showing me that in spite of my weaknesses, in spite of my failures, He is big enough to be strong and accomplish His purpose in and through me for His glory honor and praise. Our weaknesses/failures are not bigger than God. He is able to use them in our lives and the lives of others for His glory. You see, if I had been “successful” in my own eyes by getting this book to this boy “on time”, it wouldn’t have been on time at all! God’s timing was absolutely perfect and He used my weakness, not my strength to accomplish His goal! He is so amazing and so very good.-





<center><a href="http://www.gracelaced.com/2012/01/08/grace-laced-mondays/"><img border="0" src="http://www.gracelaced.com/uploads/2012/01/GLMondays1.jpg"/></a></center>