Thought of the day:
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Reference 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV
Paul gives a great reminder here. It may be one we’re all familiar with. In this reminder, he is saying more of Jesus and less of him trying to handle things in his life. He really developed a life focused on Jesus, however, he still had his struggles and needed to be reminded at times. It did not make him weak in his faith but more focused.
This can be of a great encouragement for us as well as a reminder. We try to grow in our faith but yet we struggle in areas. We fret about things and wonder if they will be resolved. We may complain, get angry, or even withdraw and become depressed. These are the things Jesus wants to Work out of our lives.
The best defense is preparation.
We prepare by developing a strong prayer life. I don’t mean just a quick prayer every now and then. I’m talking about deep intimate prayer. Time that we spend in waiting and listening.
We prepare by reading, studying, and memorizing scripture. These are what we use to bury in our hearts. When we have them buried in our hearts and we see how God has worked over time, when we reach those dark times, we will be immediately reminded of His Love for us.
We prepare by fellowship. In fellowship, we find accountability. We also find encouragement and prayer. We find that we are not alone in this struggle.
There has been a lot of people talking about struggles they are dealing with lately and we all need these reminders of growing. They, after going through the struggle and praying and being encouraged, find that this was a period that God was growing them and removing doubts from their lives. These are times we can help them look up.
Let’s be better prepared for any time in our lives whether good or bad by spending more time with Jesus.