Fragility
By Peggy Kleckner
"I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling." [Paul to the Corinthians]
1 Corinthians 2:3 (NIV)
"I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling." [Paul to the Corinthians]
1 Corinthians 2:3 (NIV)
Today,
I began my day before God a bit whiny. It seems I am forever discontent,
wrestling with this body of flesh. My heart wants to be strong and stalwart for
Him, but my flesh is weak and timid.
Thankfully
I have been taught the discipline of bringing my whole self before Him and He
meets me as I am, not as I want to be. He always knows what I need. Out of the
devotional book Jesus Calling by
Sarah Young, I read this:
“Do not compare yourself with others, who
seem to skip along their life-paths with ease. Their journeys have been
different from yours, and I have gifted them with abundant energy. I have
gifted you with fragility, providing opportunities for your spirit to blossom
in My Presence. Accept this gift as a sacred treasure... Rather than struggling
to disguise or deny your weakness, allow Me to bless you richly through it.”
[1]
Here
plainly was a new thought. Fragility is sometimes a:
- gift given by Him
- doorway through which He would bless me
- sacred treasure, one He has entrusted to me.
In
my weakness - - my fragility - - I would find Him, my strength. My weakness is
not to be tossed aside but accepted as gift from the Giver of good gifts.
In
my struggling to wrestle out of my weaknesses, I have found I forever need a
Savior. I have found my need can only be matched by His great grace. I have
found Jesus came because I cannot succeed at being perfect. The very things I
have despised in myself, things the enemy taunts me with by saying that I am
not good enough for God, are the very things God uses to nudge me back to
Himself lest I begin to believe the lie I can do it on my own. The answer to
the enemy is, “Yes, I know the places that I have fallen short and I gladly
bring them before the King and receive the grace Jesus offers to those who
believe He paid it all.”
It
is hard to accept dependence on Jesus. Certainly the flesh cries out the world-cry
of independence. Shouldn’t we one day be able to walk on our own? No, we were
built for relationship…children of the King of kings. We are accepted, loved,
treasured. Why would we want to walk away from that?
GOING DEEPER:
1. What weakness is pressing you to believe the
lie that God is not good, or that He will not accept you?
2. Will you
consider looking at your hardship, pain or weakness as gift?
FURTHER READING:
[1]
Sarah Young wrote the devotional in response to her personal time with God and
reading the Bible, artistically writing from Jesus’ perspective. Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His
Presence (Nashville:
Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2004).
Peggy is a wife and
mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active
encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
