My child, I will sustain you. In your weakness I am strong. I know you are tired and weary. I see your heart’s desire and your flesh that is weak. I will give you everything you need to accomplish what I have planned for you. Look to Me for strength. Look to Me when you are weak. I am willing and able to do the impossible.
Tag Archives: weakness
Weakness
My child, I know your weakness, I understand your struggles. I took on the form of a human so I can relate to what you are going through. I love you even though you sin. I pursue you even when you don’t pursue Me. My love for you is endless and everlasting. Never think that I am mad at you. I am mad about you.
For My Glory
My child, I understand and will use what you are going through. These are not wasted days. You will come to know why this happened and will be able to say with all confidence that it was good and for My glory. You are used more powerfully in your weakness than you could ever be in your self-confidence. I am glorified in your weakness.
When you are weak
My child, let Me use this trial for My glory, for when you are weak, then you are strong. Allow Me to do My perfect work in you. Be joyful through this and watch how I work it all out for good. I will show you My ways to live a full rich life. My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.
Romans 8:28 2 Corinthians 12:9&10
Free from–not to sin
I think we as believers can all agree that any thought of maintaining a lifestyle of sin is patently absurd (Romans 6:15). Paul prefaces his whole argument of dying to sin with this statement in Romans 6:2: “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
So it would be rather foolish to think that being freed from such a powerful enemy might somehow give us the right to continue playing around with it. Why bother being freed at all if we merely set ourselves up to be enslaved all over again?
The purpose of freedom from sin isn’t to let us lapse into sloppy behavior with the excuse that battling selfish desires is just too big a chore. God didn’t set us free to give us license to sin, but rather to lay the foundation for unfettered pursuit of Him in spite of our inherent weakness.
An Equitable Solution
Consider the fact that we’ve been born—not by our own choice—into a world of sin. As we discussed earlier, the only possible outcome of life in such a tainted world is enslavement to sin. Yet, while on the surface this certainly seems like a negative thing, human existence is actually an incredible gift of God. Why? Because it allows us the opportunity to experience a level of intimacy with Him that it could be achieved by no other means—a relationship whose purpose and ultimate outcome is a personal joining with God eternally.
Still, the weakness of human nature overwhelms us in this environment of sin. And God, being intrinsically just, simply had to do something about it. His answer: God chose to take on a human nature, which ultimately led to crediting us with His own righteousness as He took our sins upon Himself through His suffering and death.(Hebrews 2:14, 17) This radical step is equitable in God’s eyes because it is the only solution that could provide the answer to our human condition.
Crediting us with His righteousness is the very foundation of God’s redemptive plan in bringing “many sons to glory.” Our redemption means that God has purchased us, much like one would buy a slave for the purpose of setting him free. And it all happens through faith.(Romans 3:25-26)
Law of the Spirit
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2) is an unalterable spiritual law. In Christ we are no longer condemned for sin. Rather, sin itself has become the culprit worthy of condemnation
The bottom line is that we need to start behaving like dead men—dead to law, that is (and as a consequence, dead to sin). This extraordinary life as believers is all about faith in what Jesus has done, regardless of the weakness of our flesh. Paul’s admonition in Colossians 2:6 says it all: “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”
When we were steeped in sin, we freely received God’s gift of grace. Now that we are saved, our job is not to try to appease Him by attempting once again to keep the law, but to live out our lives daily walking in the grace He has so abundantly provided. Only then can we enjoy the confidence that we are truly living a life of godliness.
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Run to God
By its very nature, sin—especially hidden sin—just naturally opens wide the floodgates of guilt and shame. So we try to bury it, just like everyone else does, hoping that those around us will never discover who we really are.
Satan has used the tool of shame in countless Christians’ lives to drag them into a back-slidden condition where alienation from God becomes a way of life. Just think how being more open about our weaknesses would serve to cripple this strategy the devil so routinely exploits.(James 5:16)
Rather than allowing sin to drive us from God, we need to run headlong to God when we sin. This can be very difficult for us, though, because we’ve been taught throughout life to behave ourselves. And when we don’t, our conscience tells us we must clean up our act before we can ever go to God with the problem. After all, how else might we feel like we’re worthy enough to deserve His help? Though this assumption is entirely false, it’s very real to us all the same.
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Law Exposes Sin
While it is obvious that God’s intention for law was both to curb sinful behavior and provide direction, its main purpose was to expose sin. Paul puts it this way in Romans 7:7: “I would not have come to know sin except through [law].” Law identifies and exposes sin because it sets the standard of God’s righteousness (His holiness) against that of our own self-centered, sinful motivations and behavior. So law can be thought of as a gauge of sorts, because it contrasts God’s righteousness with our own lack thereof.
But this begs a very pertinent question: did sin exist before the first law was ever given? Yes it did; at least man’s predisposition to sin did. But in the absence of law, sin laid dormant in Adam. Adam was created perfect, but being created perfect also meant being created human. And being human, he was subject to the chronic weakness of self-will. But Adam’s inherent self-will—and the sin which is the natural outcome of that weakness—was not recognized for what it was until law came on the scene to expose it.
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Weakness
My child, trust Me today for strength. Believe Me today for joy. I know you’re tired. I see your weariness. I will sustain you. I will raise you up with My righteous right hand. Allow Me to live through you in your weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:10 Nehemiah 8:10 Isaiah 41: 10 Isaiah 50:4