Scripture
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
Observation
Paul and Timothy experienced extreme hardships, beyond their own ability to endure them. In fact, they thought they were going to die. These hardships caused them to rely not on their own power, but on God's power.
Application
I have a pretty independent streak. I like to be independent. I like to be in control of things and I like knowing that I can handle things. (Yes, I'm a firstborn!) And for the most part I could. Or at least, I had allowed myself to believe that I could.
That all changed the summer before Grade 12 when I went on a two month trip with Teen Missions Int'l. That was the first time I remember experiencing something that was beyond my ability to endure on my own. I had rarely been away from home before, I was physically exhausted and on the verge of dehydration as my body adjusted to the extreme July temperatures of swampland Florida (where we did our two week boot camp training before they sent us out on our 6 weeks team missions assignments), I was homesick, I hadn't made any new friends yet and I was emotionally done. I wanted to quit. I wanted to go home. I wanted to be anywhere but there. Because I couldn't do it on my own strength.
And that's exactly the point God wants us to be at. Because it's when we get to the end of our strength, when we feel that we are going through something beyond our ability to endure, that we finally realize that we are not the independent creatures we like to think ourselves to be.
We need God. We need His power. Obviously to get through the really tough times in life.
But you know what? We need Him in every area of life. And we don't even realize it.
Our very breathe, no, the very air we breath - is a gift of God and something we have no control or power of. If God suspended the laws of nature He put in place, we would all be dead in an instant.
And the same is true of our spiritual selves. We need to remain in constant touch with our power source. But we like to think we don't.
We skip a day or two of reading the Word, or praying and think we can handle it.
Wrong!!
We can't. We really can't.
Not only that, but suddenly two days become twenty, the months become years, and soon we've all but completely cut ourselves off from our power source.
And so sometimes God needs to bring us to the end of ourselves in order to teach us the same lesson we've likely already learned once or twice (or more!) before. It's one that I, at least, seem to need repeated on a fairly regular basis.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we thank You that You are always there for us. You are the Creator of life, You are the Giver of life, You are the Sustainer of life. Help us to recognize that it is only when we become dependent on You that we are able to operate fully and completely. Help us to realize that dependence on You is not weakness, but strength! Lord, if necessary, bring us to our knees and help us see our need for You. Amen.
Tomorrow's passage: 2 Chronicles 7-9, 2 Corinthians 2
2 comments:
Great post, Tammy, thank you. I don't know how often I've thought to myself "I'm going to remember that from now on," only to realize months, weeks or even days later that I've forgotten already.
I really like the analogy of cutting ourselves off from the power source. So true!
Post a Comment