God Shows Up

I hate admitting any weakness I perceive in my life, and I work hard to overcome it. Do you, like me, ever find yourself working hard to please God? Working to please God is not a bad thing unless it is with a wrong heart. I must consider whether I am working to please God so I will receive a blessing. Am I working to please God because I think it is a requirement? Am I working to please God so others will notice? Or am I working to please God so He receives glory and honor through all that I do? Why am I working? Should I not rest in Him? 

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 we read, “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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 

Paul was telling the people of Corinth that God had not taken away a weakness he prayed God would take away. Instead, Paul accepted this answer that God’s grace was sufficient, and gloried in the fact that the power of Christ would be revealed through that weakness.  

God does not ask us to do hard things on our own, instead, God asks us to give Him everything. Yes, He wants everything! When we walk with Christ, His strength shines brightest through our weakness. Have you ever actually thought about that? I generally give God some things, but there are a large number of things I tend to hang onto. I hang onto frustration and sadness of something someone said that I take negatively. 

When I carry the burden of grief, I need to know it is alright to say, “God, I hurt. I hate this situation. It is unfair. I am miserable. I love you, God, but I am so very frustrated right now.” God’s grace is sufficient. I can rely on His grace.  

I can hurt, and rely on God’s comfort. It does not mean I can lash out and hurt others because I am hurting, but God wants us to bring Him our pain. He wants to bear our burdens. He wants us to take on His lighter burden. God promises to give us the strength we will need. It comes from Him. 

God is waiting for us to fully rest in Him. He is waiting for us to quit trying to bear our own burdens and sadness and to give everything to Him. He is asking us to give Him our weaknesses. The amazing thing about our weakness is when we give it all to Him, God’s power is revealed through it. God wants us to tell Him we do not understand and we cannot see where He is leading us and to tell Him when we are completely frustrated with our lack of understanding. God will provide for us when we quit trying to do everything for ourselves.  

Like Paul, we need to be thankful God recognizes we cannot do everything, and fully believe God’s strength and grace will bring us through our suffering and struggle. When we believe God is the Creator of the universe, and is capable of saving us from an eternity in Hell, then there is nothing He cannot do. We may not understand what is going on, and God wants us to tell Him and trust His plan. 

If we will accept our weakness and know we cannot do anything aside from what God allows us to do, then our walk with God will grow and others will see how God’s strength shows up in our weakness.