Where are you?

The other night, I was laying in my bed unable to sleep from the soda AND the chocolate I had for dinner. Since we got rid of cable, I have no tv in my room to help me fall asleep. So, after much tossing and turning, I decided I should give up trying to sleep, and I pulled out my phone. I have just started reading posts from the Proverbs 31 ministry's website. Well, I pulled up a few daily devotions and just started reading them. One of them really stood out to me. It was titled, "weak places, Strong Places."

It starts off with this:

We all have them. Weak places. Places inside that make us wonder if we’ll ever get it together like the “together people.” Places that make us feel less than. Less than victorious. Less than a conqueror. Less than strong.

Who doesn't feel this way?? One thing I am learning real fast is that even those "together people" do not always have it together. As much as I want to have it all together all of the time, that kind of lifestyle is not nearly as fun :)

It goes on to talk about how we often times wallow in our weakness. Then they say:

Maybe we need to sit still for just a moment or two today. Quietly sit without the weight of condemnation or the swirl of trying to figure things out. Quiet, with nothing but the absolute assurance the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Well, it was VERY quiet while I was in my bed at 12:30 that morning, so I decided to do just as she said and just be still....just lay there, calm, peaceful...and y'all, let me tell you...that is NO easy task. There are so many things going on in our life to lay and think about. Thoughts constantly rushing in and then right back out. It is often hard to make sense of all the things going on, and feels as though I can never find a good place to start. So....I continue to lay there, trying to "be still" but I kept finding myself thinking about what the best way to "be still" would be ;) So...after I failed at that, I continued to read:

He understands our weak places. He knows what to pray. There is a purpose to this weakness. Though it doesn’t feel good, things will be worked out in a way that good will come from it (Romans 8:28).

Something that I have reminded myself over the past little bit is that even in this weak place, God is working. I cannot really understand what it is that I am supposed to be learning, but I think that is where prayer comes into effect. I think that if we constantly seek Him, His answer will eventually be revealed. There is definitely a purpose to all the weakness, even if it takes time to see God show us that purpose.

So, then I read on:

In that quiet stillness while the Spirit prays for us and we just simply soak in truth, there will be a flicker of light. A slight trickle of hope. A grace so unimaginable, we’ll feel His power overshadowing our weakness.

We aren't weak......

We are dependent.

Dependent on the only One powerful enough to help us. The only One sufficient enough to cover us in grace throughout the process.

Our relationships may not be sufficient. Our circumstances may not be sufficient. Our finances may not be sufficient. Our willpower may not be sufficient. Our confidence may not be sufficient. But He is and has been, and forever will be.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

All I could think to myself after reading this was RIGHT ON!!! Man oh man how powerful that was for me to read in my moment of weakness. I feel as there is NO better way to phrase what I had read. It could not have come at a better moment. Once again, I see God reveal Himself to me and show me that there is purpose in EVERY SINGLE TINY thing that happens to us. Many of these things lack in sufficiency, yet God is sufficient. He is there to cover us with His grace so that we may better conquer all of the insufficiencies in our life. I cannot tell you how powerful this was and how PERFECT it was for me to read in that very moment. This, my friends, was no coincidence...it was GOD!

It finishes up like this:

So instead of wallowing in my weak place, I will let the Spirit reveal the one positive step I can take today. I will wash away the condemnation with the warmth of His grace. I will receive His power. And I will rename the weak place, my strong place. “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10b).

PERFECT! Perfect words, perfect timing....just perfect!

We are made new by His grace EVERY MORNING!!!

I hope this devotion encourages you like it did me.