That was my weakness surfacing. The story ended well. I didn't respond to the text, this time. I'd like to say I will never respond. I couldn't take credit for this minor, emotional victory.
That's a small example of a bigger war that rages in each of us. The battle between the flesh and Spirit. I have weaknesses that I fight all too often and although I've been walking with the Lord for some time, I can't say I'm strong in all areas of my life. But I can confess that I long to be strong with every part of my being. With each failed trial and test, I cry out to the Lord in repentance and continually place my trust in His power.
I sincerely believe,
"If the Son makes you free, then you are really and unquestionably free." John 8:36 [Amp]
Watch this part of the Captain America movie:
"Falling on a grenade" means "the deliberate act of using ones body to cover a live grenade, absorbing the explosion and fragmentation in effort to save the lives of others..." It's considered a selfless act of sacrifice.
Since the Son of God "fell on a grenade" for us, (through the selfless act of deliberately giving his life and absorbing the effects of sin in effort to save the lives of others), we have the power to live lives free from the control of sin.
I look forward to this power, but all too often I try to be strong on my own.
You know, you've heard people say,
"You better get your life right"
"I will try to stop cursing, I promise"
"I'm giving up ________."
In this same way, I've vowed to 'never do [that] again...' over, and over, and...over! Despite my solemn yet sincere prayers, sometimes I find myself struggling with doing it anyways. So how do I quit mistreating my Lord? How do I flex my strength in the face of my weak moments?
Simple: I don't.
This quote, I also heard in the same Captain America movie was powerful:
I believe there is a reason why God doesn't want us to 'be strong' (in the sense that we flex our own strength). Yet, He wants us to be aware of and exemplify a level of confidence in our weaknesses. Because a strong man has pride and doesn't respect the strength of God.
However, a weak man, knows the value of God's strength. He goes to God in his weakness and receives strength from Him. The strength that raised Jesus from the dead is the strength that He flexes, on our behalf.
But what's more? The last part of that quote stood out to me as well.
A weak man...knows compassion.
A friend of mine had a very real struggle some 15 years ago and used to share it with a group of my female friends, on occasion. I found myself dealing with that same struggle a few weeks ago. So inevitably, I sent her a message on Facebook and asked her how she dealt with that struggle. She replied with 3 simple verses. She encouraged me that if I practically focus on these verses, I would be able to face the struggle. So I did. She could have easily clowned me for such a trivial struggle, or even given me some lame advice to get me through the moment. But her own dependence on the Spirit in her time of weakness proved God's strength and gave her the compassion to share her 'secret' with me.
For these reasons, I look forward to the times when I will face my weaknesses. Not because I'm not sure whether I will overcome it or be overcome by it. I know my freedom is in Christ. He knows my desire is to please Him. I am confident that His strength is enough for me because I am in a process of sanctification. I may not win my next battle with my flesh, but I am able to win, because of Him. The joy is in the fact that someone else will identify the same weakness in themselves and ask me for advice. The compassion I can show that person, comes from my weakness.
Stay weak (and therefore strong) my friends!
