“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
As we look around us, in the grocery store, just running errands or even going to a meeting, what do we see? Sometimes, I become so complacent, so focused on what I am doing or where I am going that I don’t see what’s going on all around me. I am trying to make more of an effort to ask myself why the man in the deli department was so angry and rude. Why the cashier acted like that was the last place on earth she wanted to be, or why the young mother was so impatient with her young children. Maybe if I make more of an effort, I will learn the man in the deli just lost his wife to a long illness and is angry and hurting so much because he has no one to talk to, no one to just give him a hug and tell him they love him and God loves him. Maybe the cashier’s mother has alzheimers disease and no longer recognizes her own child. And maybe the young mother’s husband just walked out on her, leaving her with nothing. Of course, this is no reason to be rude or mistreat those around you, but maybe, in your weakness, that’s all you can do. I have, and probably you have, experienced some of those emotions. It is only through God’s grace that we can keep walking forward and push through to the next stage of our lives. It is only through KNOWING God’s grace that we can still smile and now that some tomorrow will be better and less painful. Maybe not the next tomorrow, but it will come. Meanwhile, do we just walk away and pretend we didn’t notice or do we offer a smile, a God bless you or a God loves you? Maybe there will be no immediate response, but just maybe, you will be the only bright spot in their day.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Pray Unceasingly!
In His light,
Lois
Power in Weakness
Rick Warren
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
Any process of change exposes our weaknesses. We want to make changes, but when we bump up against our weaknesses, we can get discouraged and think change is impossible. And it may be impossible—if we were on our own.
But we’re not on our own. God has given us his free gift of the Holy Spirit who lives in us and empowers us. We only need to ask, “Holy Spirit, please help me to accomplish this,” and he is there with us in power.
Don’t expect him to make the process effortless or smooth, because he wants your weaknesses to show off the fact that his power is accomplishing everything. So don’t demand perfection of yourself; aim for progress in little steps, and celebrate your weaknesses. When you are weak, God is strong. His grace truly is sufficient.