Don't you envy the confidence and energy of kindergartners? If you ask a group of them, "Who can sing? Who can draw? Who's a fast runner?" every hand goes up with enthusiasm. They want to help with everything, too. Their energy wears us out so we devise plans to wear them out first: put them in preschool, invite a friend over to play, take them to the park to let other children wear them out while we rest our tired selves on a nearby bench. As these little guys and gals grow, they seem to lose both their confidence and energy. If you ask them "Who can sweep? Who can blow off the driveway? Who can take out the trash?" they either don't know how to do it, have forgotten how to do it, or they drag their feet getting it done. By the time they become adults, they're the ones sitting on the park bench trying to wear out a younger generation.
Do you remember when it hit you that you might have to limit your elementary school dream list? ("I'm going to be an astronaut, artist, ballet dancer, and teacher.") The harsh glare of our limitations (claustrophobia; color-blindness, weak ankles or fear of children) leaves many childhood dreams unexplored. In addition, as our energy level drops, so can our enthusiasm. On the days I substitute teach, I'm not good for much else, so clear the couch and read me one of those verses like:
"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."
2 Corinthians 12:9
Some of us resent this wear and tear on our psyches and bodies while others embrace growing weakness as excuses to get out of doing what we don't want to do. The Lord revealed a new attitude about limitations to Sarah Young:
"Instead of resenting the limitations of a weakened body, search for My way in the midst of these very circumstances. Limitations can be liberating when your strongest desire is to live close to Me" (Jesus Calling).
"This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.'"
Isaiah 30:15
The emptier I become, the more He can fill me. The quieter I am, the more clearly I hear Him. The more I rest in Him, the more He recharges my spirit. The weaker I am, the more His Power is perfected in me. If weaker is better, dying to myself is best because you're pretty weak when you're dead.
". . . for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
'Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'"
Ephesians 5:14
Lord, help me accept my weaknesses and limitations as sharpened tools, ready for You to use to build Your kingdom. You've called me to rise from the dead; help me take the initiative to be weak and let You shine on me and through me. Forgive me when I would have none of it and help me quietly and trustingly embrace all of You You'll pour into me. Mold my spirit so my strongest desire is to live close to You. Teach me to boast gladly about my weaknesses and to glorify You so the "least of these" will understand "less is more" in Your kingdom.
Inspired by Jesus Calling and My Utmost for His Highest
photo from photobucket.com
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