perfect in weakness

164. He gives power to the faint

1 Kings 19:1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

Isaiah 40:29-31     He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

2 Corinthians 12:9    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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Jeremiah 1:6-9     Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”  But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”  Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

Isaiah 43:2     When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Philippians 4:13    I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

To wait on the Lord requires a patient faith. There is sometimes tension and stretching involved because God wants to renew you and make you stronger. Perhaps you feel the tension of a delayed answer to prayer. Maybe you feel like God isn’t answering your prayer at all. Maybe things have not turned out like you thought they would. You must exercise patient faith. Continue to trust God. Continue to believe His promises. When you feel the tension, and stretching of the moment, wait on the Lord.

Waiting requires you to rest, to be patient, to turn it over to God, to allow Him to do His work, and to wait passively. This is ultimately what faith requires. I must rest and wait on Him. I must trust that God sees more, knows more, and is more powerful than I am. God can do more in a moment than I can do in a lifetime.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Psalms 118:24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Zechariah 3:9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

Psalms 84:10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Psalms 28:7-8 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Isaiah 12:1-3 You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

2 Corinthians 8:2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

Finding joy, peace and rest can be like chasing the wind if we look for it apart from Jesus Christ. Yet it is hard yielding to laying it at His feet and solely trusting it to Him. It shouldn’t be but many times it is. We try to handle it in our own strength, ways, and quick fix solutions.

Yielding to His awesome love, power, might, wisdom, purpose, and plan all starts with trusting fully, without doubt, and faithfully waiting. Joy, peace, and rest cannot be found in self-reliance or looking to others. It is only found in a heart, mind, and soul yielded to and trusting in Jesus Christ.

You will seek me and find me

Psalms 107:4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Deuteronomy 8:15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,

Deuteronomy 32:10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

Ezekiel 34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

Numbers 14:33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.

Judges 15:18-19 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the LORD and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.

Lamentations 2:19 “Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.”

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Jeremiah 29:12-14 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

There is no changing in God. He remains the same, creator, mighty, awesome in power, steadfast love, grace, mercy, and long-suffering toward His creation, mankind. Life would tell us there is little that changes for mankind as our nature would experience – pleasure, pain, purpose, satisfaction, toil, trouble, sickness, death, life, joy, anger, pride, humbleness, laughter, bitterness, praise, judgmental, forgiving, and crying. We try to find much of our way in this life apart from God. Apart from trusting in, relying on, clinging to, and giving thanks to Him. Even when we think we are walking each day with Him, we limit what we think He can do. Scripture has been given to us so that we might know Him more, understand Him more, love Him more, rely on Him more, trust in Him more, run to Him faster, listen to His quiet whispers of guidance more, seek Him more, and believe in Him more. He never changes. He is the same today and forever. Spend time in His word. Seek Him and you will find Him. Sometimes we need someone to just encourage us to run to Him. It seems so obvious but many times it is the last thing we do.

Content in all things

“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”

“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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”

Psalms 68:28 Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.

Psalms 68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Psalms 42:8 By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalms 71:3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Psalms 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Being content in the hands of God is both hard and easy. It depends on our choice to have faith in Him, to wait on Him, to trust in Him, and to believe in Him and His purpose for our lives. We must believe He is sovereign and in control of all there is. And then patiently wait for His mighty and awesome timing. Sometimes it is immediate and other times it is not. In our culture our access is almost unlimited to anything we are seeking. I wonder if this doesn’t play a part in our lack of seeking God and His purpose. When problems arise we run ahead on our own without giving second thought to Him. Other times we are so blessed we even forget that these blessings come from Him. I recently heard a man tell of great success he was having in training dogs. He said at one point he just thought it was too easy. Then God showed him it was not easy and gave him a time of trials in this training. He said he was humbled by God and knows all success is at the hands of God. If we listen, God will speak to our heart and lead us on paths where we continually see His sovereignty. Commit to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.

Hope in weakness

“Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge”

“For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Psalms 31:1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

Romans 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Isaiah 49:23 Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

2 Samuel 22:3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

Psalms 71:3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Jeremiah 14:7 “Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.

2 Corinthians 12:9 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

At the time we are asking God to be our refuge, fortress, strength, power, rock, savior, shield, and come speedily to our rescue we also have to know too that His power is made perfect in our weakness. It is in this weakness we find hope. This hope comes to us as we finally get to a place where we have exhausted all of our own efforts to see that what we are facing is much bigger and complex than we can have influence on. I recently heard a person say “I finally turned it over to God, and when I did I had this peace come over me. I am fine with whatever comes”. Why is it we are slow to bringing it to God and quick to try to keep it in our own power? We don’t find peace in our own power do we. It is only when we have surrendered it fully to God do we find hope, peace and rest.

All Things Are Possible

” 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

“But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

Psalms 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Job 29:3 when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness,

Micah 7:7-8 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Malachi 4:2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall

.John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 51:6-8 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed. “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool, but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.”

Psalms 62:6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

Psalms 28:7-8 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Sometimes I wonder if we think we will never see trials or troubles or have dark times or sickness. Scripture is very clear that we will. We are made whole in these times of weakness and when the issues we are facing are beyond our ability to have any influence. Paul rested in weakness. He feared not what God was asking him to do and say. He saw the power of Christ through his weakness. David proclaimed God as His strength, light, power, and salvation. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”. There surely is a darkness in the world. This darkness looks not to God but rather to man. Free choice allows us to choose the light or stay in darkness. Free choice in the light of God gives us power, strength, hope, salvation, and the ability to do all things through Him. Free choice to stay in darkness gives us false hopes, power, strength, and no hope of salvation. We freely choose to open the door of our heart and mind to the light and power of God. We freely choose to believe, listen, follow and obey. I hear so much fear and hatred these days which does not reflect the light of God. I wonder if God has given people a spirit of delusion in one last attempt to draw them out of the darkness. Are you facing any darkness in your life? Open the door to God and you will find rest, peace, power, and hope for your heart and soul and mind.