Thinking...

I’ve been thinking..and I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling you may be in the same boat as me.  You see I’m not as strong as I’d like to be and I certainly don’t have life together or as organized as I’d like it to be.  Last night I just felt totally weak and overwhelmed. I won’t bore you with all that’s on my plate bc you’ve probably got a full plate too.  But I know I’m not the only one feeling like there’s too much to do.

I wish I had the answer for you, and me, on how to use our planners, or organize all our stuff and get through our to-do lists faster... but I don’t.  Honestly my way to handle things is to cry and keep going.  You see last night I forgot a profound truth, and maybe you have too. 

But I’m going to remind you just like the Lord reminded me last night ... and that is this: “when we are weak, He is strong.” 

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  II Corinthians 12:9 

What does that mean for our overwhelmed hearts? It means everything!

First off, we don’t DENY that we have shortcomings, and act like we’ve “got this.” No, our weakness should remind us to run to Jesus first, (not social media or TV or the ice cream in the freezer) because He is capable! Not only is he capable of helping us, but He also wants to show His power through our weaknesses. 

Last night I cried and prayed and when I’m feeling overwhelmed sometimes I literally cry out “help me Lord!”

And He always does.

I went to my devotional app @YouVersion and read the “Kairos - God’s appointed time” day 6, where I had last left off, and there it was... HELP... from His Word, in  II Corinthians 12:9 and a great devotional that spoke to my stressed out heart.

Then that lead me to this commentary by Mary Fairchild that I want you to read:

“Our weakness is the very thing that leads us to God in the first place. When we deny our shortcomings, we drift off in the opposite direction. We are like the small child who insists on doing it herself, when the task at hand is far, far beyond her abilities.

Paul boasted of his weakness because it brought God into his life with stunning power. Paul became an empty vessel and Christ lived through him, accomplishing amazing things. This great privilege is open to all of us. Only when we empty ourselves of our own ego can we be filled with something better. When we are weak, then we can become strong. 

So often we pray for strength, when in actuality what the Lord wants is for us to remain in our weakness, utterly dependent upon him. We think our physical thorns will hinder us from serving the Lord, when in reality, the very opposite is true. They are perfecting us so that Christ's divine power can be revealed through the window of our human weakness.”

Isn’t that SO good?!

We always want to have STRENGTH to get it all done, right? I know I’ve prayed for that countless times!

So today, let’s empty ourselves of the stress and overwhelmed feelings and give our Lord & Savior all our weaknesses. Let’s ask Him to use us right where we are and fill us up with His Power!

Because we can know one thing for sure… He is GREATER!

Let His power flood you live a river today with His peace and His sufficiency.

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

Hugs,

Laura McCollough

P.S. I’ll share more about these photos and the cute pile of “finds” down below from last summer’s retreat in France & Belgium next week.