The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Extremities"
"Left to ourselves, it may well be that we are not big enough or strong enough to face our enemies. By definition, however, God does not leave His children to themselves."
When born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ feel ourselves to have reached the extremity of our weakness, the extremity of God's strength lies near.
"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10).
"When I am weak, then am I strong" (II Corinthians 12:10).
Of course, we do not inevitably avail ourselves of the Lord's leading and enabling. "We have access by faith into this grace where we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2). We have choices of faith to exercise when we feel we cannot overcome or endure matters of life that reveal our native human frailty. Will we access God's grace by faith? Will we fix our focus on the Lord Jesus and His promise of power? Or will we allow a paralyzing gaze to remain upon ourselves and the weakness we feel? The writer of Hebrews vividly portrays the opportunity and the challenge:
"Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:1-3).
We can look. Or we can not look. Our Heavenly Father does not force the issue. Certainly, He works in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure," ever seeking to encourage us by His involved presence and "the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 2:13; 3:20). Whether we will trust Him, however, lies with us. In essence, the matter involves truth. Will we believe that "Christ, the power of God" dwells within us, whose strength ever lies at hand, or rather, in heart? (I Corinthians 1:24). Or, like the Jewish spies of old, will we look into the promised land and fix our gaze not on milk and honey, but rather… "We saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" (Numbers 13:33).
Life delivers large challenges to our doorstep, which can certainly tempt us to feel as grasshoppers in the presence of giants. Left to ourselves, it may well be that we are not big enough or strong enough to face our enemies. By definition, however, God does not leave His children to themselves. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10). Yes, the choice is ours. We can affix our gaze on our weakness, which is a very real matter regarding our present condition in a fallen world. "We also are weak in Him" (II Corinthians 13:4). Or we can remember and affirm the promise God made to the Apostle Paul: "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (II Corinthians 12:9). May our Heavenly Father's working to direct our gaze to the extremity of Christ's strength be met with our response, often offered when we feel ourselves at the extremity of our weakness…
"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust."
(Psalm 18:2)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Thou art good, and doest good."
(Psalm 119:68).
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