Can I be brutally honest?
Sometimes I get weary of the fight with my own flesh. I still see the effects of sin on my own thinking and relationships and I struggle to free myself from it’s markings. I can look back at my story and see how far God has brought me, but I know deep down how far I have yet to grow. It’s discouraging when I fail, and unfortunately, I still fail fairly often. As a minister of the gospel, the grace extended to me by others is occasionally scarce. The grace I extend toward myself is often far scarcer.
All of this was heavy on my heart even as I awoke today. Weaknesses and shortcomings slept on my chest and refused to kick off with the covers when the alarm rang. But the Word illuminated my way before the light of day had even broken on the horizon.
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.” (Romans 8:26 NLT)
It is incredibly encouraging that our weaknesses are not only acknowledged by the Lord, but reinforced by His Spirit. In the light of this scripture, I can picture all my own tender places – the sinews that aren’t quite strong enough and the old injuries that still ache from time to time – I can see the Spirit slipping in and underpinning my flesh that is feeble and somehow obstinate at the same time.
Note the verses that immediately follow:
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groans that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:26-29 NLT)
This verse is about all things working together and God choosing ordinary people to become more like His Son; and it can’t be lost on us that it comes after the piece about our weakness. I see God dealing with our weakness in two ways: first, He strengthens us by His Spirit and second, He took our weakness into consideration when He constructed His plan.
Grab hold of this, my friend. Our weaknesses aren’t a surprise or even a disappointment to God. They are a reality that God has already factored into His perfect equation for the whole of humankind. He has accounted for our frailties. In His sovereignty, He has already made allowances and provisions and somehow incorporated our shortfalls into His larger, perfect story.
I’m thinking about Joseph – you know the kid with the coat of many colors? We are about to deep dive into His story in our next Sunday morning series. Now young Joseph had a terrible tendency toward pride (a weakness that disguises itself as strength). But God had already factored Joseph’s weakness into his story. When Joseph’s pride pushed him into a plot twist he never could have seen coming, the pit and the prison wound up humbling this favored child considerably. The Holy Spirit helped Joseph in his area of profound weakness, but also, his slavery and and imprisonment served a far larger Kingdom purpose.
The sovereignty of God assures us that He knows our shortcomings and has factored them into the larger story He is weaving with the whole of humanity. God is not content to leave those weak places in our soul unfortified, but they won’t disqualify us from Kingdom service in the meantime. What a relief this is!
“For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. Our days on the earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows are we are gone – as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him. His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are are faithful to His covenant, of those who obey His commandments.” (Psalm 103:14 NLT)
Lord, it amazes us that our weaknesses don’t disqualify us from the gospel effort altogether; they feel so glaring within. Thank You for making allowances for our humanity. Help us cooperated with Your Spirit and Your plan for our growth. Please tend to the frail places in our personalities. Fortify us as only You can and keep us on the path of Your bigger picture. Accomplish whatever You can through our surrendered stories. Amen.