Dependent, Like it or Not

What scriptures do you dislike? Here’s one I wish was different:  “Therefore, in order to keep me (Paul) from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-9  Nobody knows exactly what that thorn was–physical, emotional, spiritual. And we all have various kinds of weaknesses.

I’m developing a new retreat. This morning, I woke up early with some ideas to expand the basic concept. That was God. By myself, I get stuck on the core idea, with little sense of how to expand the focus. I know it needs expansion and to be viewed from several different angles, but it is one of my weaknesses as a developer to actually be able to see the related concepts.

Even using a number of helps–mind-mapping, mining my own story, and reading others’ explorations of the topic, I still feel stuck sometimes. I’d much rather be full of ideas, able to see the relationships between them and able to grasp what needs to be included. But that is a request for a different kind of intelligence than God has given me. I have a weakness in this area.

How do you feel about that idea, that God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses? Are you comfortable with that? Good! I’m working on it. I’m grateful for this morning’s input. Whether I like it or not, I depend on his help.

But is dependence easy for any of us? Independence is the familiar sin. Our primeval parents said, “No, God, I’m not going to listen to you. This snake here has a better idea.”

But it is God’s idea that we are dependent beings. That feels like weakness to us. We prefer conceit. But we are made for his glory (Isaiah 43:7).

Yes. So be it.

Father, show your glory through us today!

Jacob Worshiped

“By faith Jacob, when he was dying,…worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.” Hebrews 11:21

The father of the twelve tribes of Israel, when he was so weak he couldn’t stand alone, worshiped. At the end, he affirmed God’s worth. That sentence resonated in this morning’s Bible reading.

Worship Pictures, Images and Photos
At nearly 60 years old, I’m entering that time of declining strength. Weaker hands makes jar-opening harder. Though we hope it’s been eradicated,  Jerry and I are walking with the diagnosis of cancer.  Close friends are beginning to endure chronic diseases.

Jacob didn’t start worshiping in those last few days. Worship at the end is fueled by worship at the beginning and in the middle.

Beginning, middle, or end, physical decline is a test of our willingness to find God sufficient. God is asking, “Will you worship me now? Or is your health, your comfort, indeed, even your life, more important to you than I am?”

It’s a hard question. Let’s be inspired by Jacob, leaning on his staff, worshiping.

Father, create worship in our hearts. You are worthy.

Methaphor, All

Is every bit of the creation meant to be a metaphor for spiritual realities?

At sunrise this morning, the clouds glowed, prettier than the sun alone brightening the horizon. God shows his glory as he lights up the clouds in our lives. When I describe the deep darkness out of which God has delivered me, his glory shines.

God’s flowers speak to me, in so many ways. Jerry and I were hiking in a state park a few years ago when I bent down to a tiny blue and purple flower. “If God takes such trouble to design this quarter-inch flower so carefully, won’t he also take great care with the details of our lives?”

“What a good little sermon.” He took my hand as we continued to the waterfall at the end of the canyon.

Water gushing over a cliff is also a metaphor. John 7:38 says, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Believers walk around spilling out grace, often without realizing that reality.

You can make your own list of all the ways you’ve understood God better because of his creation. God says his unseen qualities  “—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…” Romans 1:20.

And so, we “fix our eyes” on the eternal unseen. But we can see it more clearly because of what’s temporarily visible.  2 Corinthians 4:18.

Holy Spirit, open our eyes today to the “eternal unseen.”