Perfect Weakness

Perfect Weakness
Micca Monda Campbell

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)

It started out like any other evening at home. Donny made dinner while Annie attended aerobics class after work. It was a good arrangement. Donny got to practice his cooking skills and Annie got to exercise. Once Annie was home, dinner was served.

Unknowingly, their lives were about to change forever. In the middle of dinner, Annie’s right hand suddenly went numb. Unable to hold her fork, she dropped it to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Donny asked. Annie felt ill. Her head pounded like never before. Something was wrong.

The next day, Annie’s MRI exposed bad news: a brain aneurysm. The good news was it was operable. Alarmed by the dreadful findings, Annie fell to pieces as the doctor explained the procedure. He would start by shaving her head where the incision would be made. Then, the brain specialist would remove the left part of Annie’s skull.

Her heart would have to stop for a split second in order to put a metal clamp around the artery in her brain. This would definitely affect her speech for a while. The doctor couldn’t guarantee how things would turn out, but he was hopeful. Distressed, both Annie and Donny melted with grief.

After sharing the news with friends and family, Annie sank into a deep depression. The unknowns of her condition left her scared stiff. Her mind raced with possible outcomes. She didn’t get out of bed or bathe for days until she visited her pastor. Surely, he could offer her the peace to face her illness. But peace didn’t come during their conversation.

“I need something more,” Annie confessed to her pastor.

“He is what you need,” the pastor said, as he pointed to the large cross hanging at the front of the church. Annie walked slowly toward the cross, knelt down in front of it, and cried out to the Lord. She didn’t ask God to heal her. She didn’t even ask to live through it. “Just give me the strength to do Your will,” Annie pleaded.

At the moment Annie placed her life before God, she was filled with His peace and power. She had no more tears. Annie knew in that moment, no matter what — live or die — everything was going to be fine.

Annie’s surgery was a success. Though it took several months before she could speak again and nearly a year to heal fully, she had something better than a life without trials or sickness. She had the companionship of Christ and the assurance of His strength and enabling grace.

The world’s philosophy says, “What can’t be cured must be endured.” Our key verse says the opposite. What can’t be cured makes us dependent on the power of God. In that dependency, His power is given and we are made strong. I’ve come to learn this truth myself. God doesn’t always remove me from my painful circumstances, but He supports me in them. This strengthens me like none other.

Something amazing happens when we faithfully cry out to the Lord in our weakness and believe in His perfect care. We experience His super-natural power and peace. Our faith suddenly becomes stronger than our fear, and our trust becomes a strong witness to others. Go ahead and be weak when the crisis comes. His strength and grace are sufficient.

Dear Lord, thank You for Your strong grace when my circumstances look bleak. In my weakness, I cry out in utter dependence on You. Make Your power known to me. Be my hope, my peace and my strength. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Trigger Points

Trigger Points
Renee Swope

“‘But Lord,’ Gideon asked, ‘how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’” Judges 6:15 (NIV)

Wouldn’t it be great if becoming a Christian meant that all of our doubts and fears went away? Have you ever wondered why you struggle with insecurities and self-doubts even though you know you are a child of God?

Maybe God is leading you to join or lead a ministry, but doubt has convinced you that you’re not smart enough or gifted enough. Perhaps you wanted kids and now you have a family, but question if you have what it takes to be a good mom. Or maybe you’ve wanted to change jobs and have the opportunity, but you don’t want to go because you doubt you’d succeed at something new.

I remember feeling a sense of paralyzing self-doubt about a ministry commitment I’d made. I had begged God to zap me with confidence, but eventually realized it wasn’t going to happen. So, I asked Him to show me what caused me to feel so insecure and give me His perspective instead.

I thought of Gideon, a man who was called by God but paralyzed by feelings of inadequacy. From reading his story in Judges 6, I knew Gideon overcame his doubts and fears by focusing on what God thought about him, instead of what he thought about himself.

But first, he processed his doubts with God in a very honest way. Recent conflicts and defeats caused Gideon to doubt God’s presence and promises. And when the angel of the Lord called him a warrior and told him to go and defeat the Midianites, Gideon turned to the angel and asked, “‘How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest…and I am the least in my family.’” (Judg. 6:15)

His perception of himself made him feel completely inadequate. Damaged emotions and insecurities from our past have a powerful influence over how we see ourselves today.

I knew it was time for me to get honest with God, too. I needed more than a quick fix. I wanted to figure out what triggered my self-doubts and led me into such a yucky place of uncertainty.

A conflict with a friend that week made doubt I should even be in ministry. After all, self-doubt whispered, if I can’t maintain healthy relationships at all times in all areas, how can I help others?

I also received feedback on a project that week. One harsh criticism overshadowed several positive comments and consumed my focus.

I’d also been comparing my abilities to speakers who’d been booked for an upcoming event with me. Self-doubt convinced me I wasn’t as gifted as they were.

What about you? When conflict arises at work or at home, do you ever assume it disqualifies you from other ministries or callings? Does criticism ever paralyze you from believing you can do certain things? Or, has comparison ever convinced you that someone else can do it (whatever “it” is) better than you can?

I used to think insecurity was simply a negative emotion, a lapse of faith, a dip in self-confidence. I wanted God to take it away, but instead He used it to lead me to a place of deeper dependence on Him.

Over time, I’ve learned to rely on God’s power to defeat my insecurities which has empowered me to fulfill His calling on my life. And so can you. When you start feeling uncertain or insecure, try to identify what triggered your thoughts and emotions. Then process that trigger point through the filter of God’s perspective and promises.

Ask Him to show you what you can learn from it, and if there are any lies that need to be replaced with His truth. Then ask Him to change the way you think by focusing on His thoughts towards you, instead of your thoughts about yourself.

When we change the way we think, it will change how we feel and eventually transform the way we live.

One thing I know for sure: God wants us to live beyond the shadows our doubts! But it is not always so much what He wants us to do — as much as what He wants to do in us as we learn to completely depend on Him!

Lord, I’m tired of doubting myself and feeling paralyzed by insecurity and uncertainty. Show me what triggers my self-doubt and then help me focus on Your thoughts about me instead of my thoughts about myself. I want to rely on and live in the power of Your promises. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Do I Have Anything to Offer?

Do I Have Anything to Offer?
Glynnis Whitwer

“Moses said to the LORD, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’” Exodus 4:10 (NIV 2011)

When a move took my family from one side of the country to the other, insecurity surprised me. Despite being a confident woman in most areas of my life, I suddenly felt out of place and questioned my abilities.

Don’t get me wrong. The people were delightful and welcoming. It’s just that I felt so different. It seemed all the women I met were smartly dressed and spoke with charming accents. I, on the other hand, wore casual clothes and spoke in what suddenly seemed like a boring monotone.

But that wasn’t all. God placed me in a work situation with women who had impressive resumes and accomplishments compared to me. These women had also been working together for years. They knew their purpose and seemed self-assured. As a newcomer, my confidence was shaky as I compared my experience and talent to theirs.

Over time, the differences magnified as my friends achieved more success. My gifts and talents seemed insignificant. I wondered how or why God would use someone like me, a somewhat simple and straightforward woman, when there were so many beautiful and charming ones nearby.

Although my head spoke words of doubt, God was strengthening my heart with His truth. He was teaching me that His love for me and my potential weren’t tied to performance. It didn’t matter what my “resume” looked like, or what level of “success” I achieved.

He wanted me to accept His love…just as I was. This truth shouted freedom to an achievement-based woman like me.

It didn’t happen overnight, but as I learned that my value was found in being a beloved daughter of God, I realized God had never compared me to anyone. He wasn’t counting accomplishments or gauging my impact. He was simply interested in what I did with what He entrusted to me.

After years of disqualifying myself, I finally accepted that God created me unique for a reason. The way I think, my personality and talents are all tools to accomplish God’s plan for me. What I saw as flaws, He saw as potential. And the more I invested in how God made me, the greater He was glorified, and the more impactful I was at work and in ministry.

The same is true for every woman. God’s design of you is intentional. You aren’t like your mother, sister or friend for a reason. Your life and ministry will never look like the manager you admire, the women’s ministry director at your church, or the woman who lives next door.

And that’s a good thing, because God doesn’t want you to be like them. He wants you to be YOU.

The challenge today is to release the expectations you’ve placed on yourself and explore God’s amazing plan for you. You’ll discover what I did: Everyone has something to offer.

Dear Lord, thank You for placing potential within me. Forgive me for neglecting the gifts and talents You’ve given me, or for wishing I had someone else’s abilities and experiences. Help me to embrace Your design of me, and to explore the incredible plan You have for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Bad Boats

Bad Boats

by  Lisa Wingate, She Reads Featured Author

“Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” Matthew 14:31 (NIV)

If you could step away from one thing that is dragging you under, what would you leave behind?

Years ago, we moved into someone else’s dream house. We purchased it from the bank after it had languished empty — built with great hope but then sadly abandoned. Soon, we began hearing stories about the place. There were whispers of substance abuse, violent fights, young children in foster care, a father in jail.

While I repaired damaged walls, my boys explored their new territory. One evening, they brought in a treasure they’d found outside. Holding the weathered Ziploc baggie, I studied the contents — two small clay pipes and seeds of a sort that undoubtedly shouldn’t go to show-and-tell when the drug dog sweeps the school.

There are those moments when the world as it is collides with the world as you wish it were. It’s hard to explain to little boys that their treasure must be disposed of in the nearest dumpster before someone gets arrested.

The lost treasure was still on their minds at bedtime.

“That’s too bad about those people,” my older son observed. “I’ll never touch drugs. Drugs are stupid.”

“It is sad,” I agreed.

His brows wrinkled. “Why didn’t they just quit before somebody took their house?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Sometimes, things that aren’t good for us feel good in the moment. Sometimes people don’t see the damage they’re doing.”

My younger son turned our way. “It’s like they’re on a boat.”

His brother responded with an eye roll. “We’re talking about drugs, not fishing. Hello.”

“Uh-huh,” the little brother remained uncharacteristically serious. “It’s a really bad boat, and it’s sinking, and they won’t get off — like in my Bible story, where the man was too scared of the water to walk to Jesus. It’s like that, huh Mama?”

A lump rose in my throat. “You’re right,” I whispered, thinking about the bad boats in life — destructive habits, painful relationships, defeating self-talk, debt, lust, jealousy, a reliance on food, drink, or shopping. There are so many.

My new novel, Dandelion Summer is a story about bad boats — the sort that trap women into unhealthy choices to gain approval from men, and the sort that can pull the elderly into grief, isolation, and anger toward God. It’s so easy for my characters, Norman and Epie, to see each other’s bad boats, but they’re blind to their own.

I see myself in both of them. So often, I find myself riding out the storm, clinging to the boat, when the truth is that Jesus is just an arm’s length away. He’s unperturbed by the waves, unshaken by the currents, waiting to help me conquer the storm, if only I’ll focus my eyes on Him instead of the ocean.

Are you in a boat that is sinking? A relationship that is unhealthy? A habit that is destructive? Ask Jesus to help you get out of that boat and walk to Him.

Dear Lord, help me recognize the bad boats in my life, whatever they are. Help me to stop looking at the water, feeling trapped, and saying “I can’t.” Help me to gather the courage to reach for Your hand — to know that no matter where I am, no matter what the storm, my security isn’t in the boat, but in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Don’t Despise the Small

Don’t Despise the Small

by  Lysa TerKeurst

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13 (NIV)

What seems small in your world? That place where your vision is grand but your reality isn’t. Your influence? Your opportunity? Your business? Your ability to give? Your ministry?

Look at that small place and tell me what you see.

Now, might I be so bold as to slip a little note into your world to tell you what I see?

I see the strings of a gift that when appreciated will spill forth as wisdom and understanding you can’t get any other way. I see the possibility of James 3:13 churning to break free in your life, “deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

I see the place from which humility is birthed. That glorious rare quality that doesn’t take too much credit. That knows real success is laced with upward glances, bent knees and whispered praises to the One. The only One.

He who gives.

And He who withholds. Not out of spite, not out of ignorance, not out of deafness, and certainly not out of comparisons where others are found to be more deserving.

No. He withholds out of protection. With more urgent restraint than we’ll ever possess, He presses back the big to protect the workings of the small.

The small we should not despise.

The quiet nurturing taking place, the unfolding, the stir beneath where none can see.

Soon, a fork in the soul’s path must be chosen. One way to haughtiness. One way to humility.

If that soul has never tasted small, it will detest the humble pallet. And crave big, only big, until it is so full of big that being big inflates and distorts and eventually bursts. All things haughty will eventually be made microscopic.

But for the soul that has tasted small, humility becomes their richest fare. The taste that fits. The thing most desired to be consumed. All things humble will eventually be made great.

Oh the beautiful gift of small.

The delight of knowing what small really is.

Small isn’t a belittling of one’s calling nor an indication of one’s future.

It’s a place. A grand unnoticed place. A place to be protected and remembered. A place that keeps all things big in good and right perspective.

Small isn’t what keeps us from that grand vision.

Small is what keeps us for that grand vision.

Dear Lord, help me to embrace the small today. I want to see with Your eyes what You have planned for me today. Give me the ability to understand the beautiful gift of small. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Removing the Mask and Becoming Real

Removing the Mask and Becoming Real

by  Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth

"Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25 NIV).

Friend to Friend

I can still remember the Saturday night rituals at my house when I was six-years-old. My mother wound my sun-streaked ash blonde hair in what seemed like a hundred pink sponge rollers. She'd swipe her middle and pointer fingers through the sticky jar of blue Dippidy-Do, slather it on a swatch of hair, and then wind the sponge round and round.  My "ouches" and winces were met with "be still" and "stop squirming."

Why did she put me through the torture and sentence me to a fitful night's sleep trying to find a comfortable spot to lay my head? Because the next day was Sunday and we were going to church lookin' good. On Sundays our family drove to church, many times fighting all the way, and walked through the pristine double doors of the church with smiles and platitudes.

"How are you?" the fellow parishioners asked.

"Fine," we mechanically replied. "And how are you?"

"Fine," thank you.

But we were anything but fine, and I imagine the folks on the pews beside us were anything but fine either.

My home was riddled with unhappiness. My father drank heavily, and Saturday nights were usually the worst. My mom was extremely unhappy. I was lonely and afraid. And my brother was just plain mad most of the time.  But nobody knew.  We hid it well.

What is it about church that makes us put on masks to cover up what is really going on inside? Forget the fig leaves. We've moved on to designer clothes, shiny cars, and smiling faces in order to attend the masquerade ball we call "church."

Why do we do it? Is it because we don't want to appear weak? Is it that we want to appear strong as the rock of Gibraltar even if a husband just lost his job, a son is flunking out of school, parents are dying with cancer, and a lump just surfaced while showering that very morning?

"How are you?" 

"Fine, just fine.  Praise the Lord."

Sometimes the church becomes our stage where we play "Let's Pretend." But as the audience applauds our performance, the Director's voice grows faintly dim.

There is a scene in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that exemplifies what I think God longs for in the Body of Christ.  The White Witch has turned many of the inhabitants of Narnia into stone statues.  Then, in a valiant display of courage, Aslan, the lion Christ-like figure, pounces into the courtyard and breathes on each of the statues...bringing them back to life. Let's join in the party for just a moment...

"The courtyard looked no longer like a museum; it looked more like a zoo.  Creatures were running after Aslan and dancing around him till he was almost hidden in the crowd.  Instead of all that deadly white the courtyard was now a blaze of colors; glossy chestnut sides of centaurs, indigo horns of unicorns, dazzling plumage of birds, reddy-brown of foxes, dogs and satyrs, yellow stockings and crimson hoods of dwarfs; and the birch-girls in silver, and the beech-girls in fresh, transparent green, and the larch-girls in green so bright that it was almost yellow.  And instead of the deadly silence the whole place rang with the sound of happy roarings, braying, yelpings, barkings, squealings, cooings, neighings, stampings, shouts, hurrahs, songs and laughter."

I fear that many of our churches have turned into the stone courtyard where everyone tries to blend in and conform to the image...not of Christ...but of what others expect from church-going-folks.  However, we were never meant to be a gathering of identical statues, but of colorful, wildly wonderful individuals...real people...unmasked.

This week, let Aslan blow the spirit of truth on the stone places in your heart and turn you into "real."  

Let's Pray

Dear Lord, I don't want to be fake.  I want to be real.  I don't want to wait until I am old and withered.  I want to be real today!  Help me to remove the mask of perfection and join the courtyard of the "happy roaring, braying, yelping, barking, squealing, cooing, neighing, stamping, singing and laughing creatures.   May I never pretend to be other than I really am.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Dead Weight

Dead Weight

by Karen Ehman 

 

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” James 1:21 (NIV)

Ever have a reoccurring bad attitude drain the life right out of you? It can cause your spirits to wither and your joy to die, leaving you limp and lifeless like a water-deprived plant.

I was feeling that way recently when I remembered something my husband’s mom had taught me. She is famous for growing wonderful herbs and colorful perennials. In fact, her garden boasts an array of color from the first hint of spring until late fall.

One day I asked her to share her green-thumb secret. She explained that the secret to helping plants thrive is called “dead-heading.” Here is how it is done: As soon as any beautiful blooms begin to whither, fade, or turn brown, they must be removed.

I’ve discovered it is a tedious, never-ending task. Just when I think I have removed every dried up blossom, the next day a dozen more appear. But if I want my flowers to keep blossoming, I have to dead-head daily because the deceased blooms sap nutrition and strength from the core of the plant. They rob the flowers of energy that could be used for new growth.

However, if the dead and debilitating weight is properly plucked, the stems will give gorgeous petals throughout the entire life of the plant.

As I pluck my dead flower heads, I am reminded of my life with Christ. There are places in my heart, thoughts in my mind, and actions in my will that stem from bad attitudes. And they are nothing but dead weight to my spiritual life.

Often these deep-rooted thought patterns and their companions — doubt, fear, wrong choices, old habits, nursed grudges, or current conflicts — threaten to choke our growth and prevent us from displaying the splendor God intends for us to show.

We start our day hopeful yet give in to the hurtful. Our self-doubts or judgments of others often take root in negative thoughts and counterproductive actions that not only have the potential to ruin our day, but also affect those around us. However, if we are intentional in nipping these at their first appearance, we will be more likely to experience new growth in our walk with Christ and health in our relationships.

Today’s verse from James tells us to get rid of such issues and instead to humbly plant God’s word deep in our hearts. So, instead of dwelling on a temptation in our thoughts and allowing it to morph into sin, we quietly focus our hearts on a truth from scripture such as “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 5:14)

Dwelling on scripture empowers, rather than drains us. It is spiritual dead-heading at its finest. This switch in our thought pattern can save us from wrong choices, unhealthy relationships and self-inflicted heartbreak.

Could your heart use a dead-heading session? Are there faded blooms you have been carrying around that are sapping your spiritual energy and strength, causing heartache and tears? Get rid of the bad. Plant God’s good Word in that spot instead. Then stand back — patiently now — and watch beautiful blooms begin to appear.

Dear Lord, I admit to You the faded flowers of my heart that I have been carrying around for much too long. Grant me courage to pluck them for good. Replace them with Your word planted seriously in my soul in an intentional manner. Let me drink deep of your bottomless nourishment so that the blooms You choose to grow and display in my life might point others to the Savior. In Jesus’ Name, Amen