Oakwood Church Fresh Start Women's Devotional Encouragement for Today Hartland Delafield

My Constant Companion
By Susan Klein

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5b

Recently, a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie entitled Front of the Class aired on television. It was based on a book by the same title, and was a true story about a man with Tourette Syndrome. The subtitle was: “How Tourette Syndrome made me the teacher I never had.” As a boy, he struggled with his symptoms of jerky movements and uncontrollable noises for many years before being diagnosed. Teachers and peers were especially hard on him, thinking his behavior was deliberate. Once he understood his disorder, it eventually drove him to become a compassionate teacher and a spokesperson for Tourette Syndrome (T.S.).

As an adult, he referred to his T.S. as “my constant companion.” He claimed that it was always there teaching him to not give up on his dreams, to not give in to the disorder, and to not judge others with impairments.

I would venture to guess that the majority of people on Earth today suffer from some sort of physically or mentally limiting impairment, be it back problems, arthritis, chronic headaches, ADHD, OCD ... But do they refer to them as their “constant companions”? I know I certainly don’t! I tend to think of mine as more of a nuisance or hindrance, or as the apostle Paul put it, “my thorn in the flesh.” While I’ve never considered my impairments to be “companions,” they have taught me to rely on the One who is my Constant Companion. God, in His Holy Word, has promised to never leave my side. He knows all about my inner workings and the things I struggle with on a daily basis and He has not left me alone to deal with them. He says His power is made perfect in my weakness. I don’t have to be discouraged by my impairments because He will use His power to be glorified, in spite of my weaknesses.

Let’s use Paul’s example to live by: “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10).” Let’s not see ourselves as impaired, but as made strong by the power of Christ!

GOING DEEPER:
1. What impairments are you struggling with today? Ask your Constant Companion to show you how to be strong through these impairments, and then trust that He will empower you to do so.

FURTHER READING:
Isaiah 42:16; 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10; Deuteronomy 31:6

Susan is a wife and mother of two. She leads a small group and teaches for Tuesday a.m. Bible Study.