Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
ARE YOU SEEKING?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
Had a few “office hours” yesterday. Really just a couple; I am not great at the office thing, but GOD is working on me with that…J. Yet while there, I happened to answer the phone and on the other end was… let’s call him “GUY”. After an hour of discussion, I now know why I was in the office.
“GUY” is deeply hurt and sad. “GUY” is overwhelmed by circumstances, his past, a cloudy present and a seemingly bleak future. “GUY” is staring at some pretty hairy consequences.
“GUY” doesn’t think he can make it. “GUY” was kicking around cashing out. “GUY” is feeling pretty weak and vunerable.
Thankfully, “GUY” and I talked. (Really I allow GOD to do the talking) and “GUY” is better. “GUY”even made it to FREEDOM last night. “GUY”needed to hear that even though it “didn’t feel like it”, that he was right where GOD wanted him and more importantly that GOD had never changed His promise for him
Jeremiah 29:11
"I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.
Some of us are like “GUY”; being pushed to the very LIMITS OF LIFE. The apostle PAUL was also pushed to the very edge. And when he was, he had this lesson for “GUY” and for all of us.
2 Corinthians 12:9-12
9 He (GOD) answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me. 10I receive joy when I am weak. I receive joy when people talk against me and make it hard for me and try to hurt me and make trouble for me. I receive joy when all these things come to me because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
You read “PAUL’S STUFF”, it is CLEAR he knew a lot about difficulty, hardship, and trial. But what we really need to learn from him is that he understood the “reason” for the “weak times” of his life. That they were there to glorify Jesus through his weakness.
Come on, I get it.
We don’t like to feel helpless or out of control of our own lives. We don’t like having life pressing down on us, exhausting us, stripping our options and leaving us desperate.
No one likes those times.
But we can find hope in PAUL’s revelation; that the prelude to great strength is often great weakness!
In other words, THE LESSON is that our weakest moments—those times we feel the most desperate—are the very times when God is free to do His greatest work by empowering and strengthening us.
The truth that we have is that in those circumstances during which we whisper, “God, I cannot go on,” we are granted the best equipping and the greatest enabling to suffer and endure; HIS STRENGTH!
I realize that this can be such a challenge. We suffer from time to time from what my buddy Tom Thompson calls our “John Wayne…MACHO” nature.
We tell ourselves “I got this”, “Nope Pastor, I’m all GOOD”, “No need to pray for me, I’m cool.” But why?
Why do we do that WHEN GOD WANTS TO HELP?
Today, I want us and “GUY” to realize that until we are pushed beyond our OWN LIMITS we will never fully understand the supernatural power of Jesus Christ and to also remember a couple of VERY IMPORTANT truths for when we are in our weak moments.
1 Corinthians 10:!3
13 You have never been tempted to sin in any different way than other people. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can take. But when you are tempted, He will make a way for you to keep from falling into sin.
HE WILL MAKE A WAY…
AND…
Romans 8:38-39
For I know that nothing can keep us from the love of God. Death cannot! Life cannot! Angels cannot! Leaders cannot! Any other power cannot! Hard things now or in the future cannot!
NOTHING!
Not even your weakest moments!
I will leave you with this today. A line from an old hymn…
“I am weak but thou art strong.
“Guide me Jesus from all wrong. “
“I’ll be satisfied as long. As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.”
Let Him help you today.
I love you all.
Freedom Church
Pastor GDelaney
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