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But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
the angry red paper cut reflected in his concerned eyes as she waved her afflicted finger in his face. all the five year old needed was to be held in her father's arms and although her paper cut did not magically disappear, she could rest at ease in the reassuring embrace of a father's love.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
the angry red paper cut reflected in his concerned eyes as she waved her afflicted finger in his face. all the five year old needed was to be held in her father's arms and although her paper cut did not magically disappear, she could rest at ease in the reassuring embrace of a father's love.
this is a shadow of the love our abba father has for us. "you are my dearly loved child," he says with open arms. we needn't hide our tears or flee from the reality that we are fragile, easily bruised, & broken. what five year old daughter hides her tears before her father with the hope that he will see her as a mature woman when in fact she is clearly not? how egotistical & vain it is to cling to the delusion that we are somehow strong, self-sufficient, and immune to the troubles of this world.
a father would not glance dismissively at his crying five year old daughter's plea for comfort. he would not expect her to have a freakish, robotic ability to turn off the tears & shut down the fear and panic in her heart. we are not conveniently custom made with a power switch, and on the same token, neither do we have a pause button. a father wouldn't tell his teary child to cater to his schedule so that he can offer comfort only when he is not busy.
in the same way, our abba father does not look down on our pain and he is never too busy to listen to our prayers. he stepped into the midst of our broken world as Christ incarnate to suffer alongside us to show precisely how much he cares. through Christ's ministry of reconciliation, we can reach God. we can find reassurance from the God of all comfort. we can dwell in a place of quietude and peace.
in the same way, our abba father does not look down on our pain and he is never too busy to listen to our prayers. he stepped into the midst of our broken world as Christ incarnate to suffer alongside us to show precisely how much he cares. through Christ's ministry of reconciliation, we can reach God. we can find reassurance from the God of all comfort. we can dwell in a place of quietude and peace.
"The seemingly petty and insignificant matters are a great magnitude to Him because these things are a great magnitude to us."
"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living... Obedience involves...this warring with worries and regrets, this bringing into captivity our thoughts. We have planted (in our integrity) the banner of our trust in God. The consequences are his responsibility." -Elisabeth Elliot, Passion & Purity
"To come to a pleasure you have not, you must go by a way in which you enjoy not." St. John on the cross
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