“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT
God is creating weakness in our lives in order to drive us to Him. Our weaknesses are meant to create dependence upon Him alone. He’ll spend decades cultivating weakness in our lives.
There is only one hero in this story we find ourselves and that hero is Jesus Christ
Brother Lawrence gives us a picture of almost pathetic weakness and dependence during his time as a cook and dishwasher for a monastery in the 1600s.
“He was a great awkward fellow, who broke everything.”
“When he had failed in his duty, he simply confessed his fault, saying to God, I shall never do otherwise if Thou leavest me to myself; ‘tis Thou must hinder my fallings, and mend what is amiss.’
Brother Lawrence was lame which made simple tasks much more difficult, including traveling to Burgundy to buy the provision of wine for the monastery. On many occasions, he could hardly remember how the task was accomplished except God helped him moment by moment.
“He accustomed himself to do everything for the love of God, and with prayer, upon all occasions, for His grace to do his work well.”
“We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, for He regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”
“The higher perfection a soul aspires after, the more dependent it is upon Divine Grace.”
Before setting about his work in the kitchen, he prayed, “O MY GOD, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy Presence; and to this end, do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections.”
Closing Story: Whitewater rafting trip in West Virginia with Youth For Christ. Almost lost our foreign exchange student from Hungary when a girl grabbed onto him for dear life after their raft tipped over. She was just a little thing but her fear of drowning drove her to cling to anything or anybody within reach. Her utter helplessness and weakness caused her to grab ahold of the exchange student. “I’m going to die unless someone else acts on my behalf.”
As Kingdom Writers, we MUST cling to Jesus with all of our beings, knowing how utterly weak we are. He will uphold us one word at a time, one sentence at a time, one paragraph, one chapter, one finished book at a time. HE’S the hero of the story, not you & I.
The Power of Having a Weekly Business Meeting with God
Learn the simple steps you can take to implement a weekly business meeting with God. This is one of the most important actions you can take as a Christian writer to ask God for the strategies to write, publish, and market your books successfully.
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