Out Of Options
If you could pick a Biblical character to help me bring home this week's theme of "I'm Stoppable" who would it be? Maybe Peter? (Who can't relate to Peter, amen?) Bold one moment, denying Jesus the next. Or maybe even my favorite, Paul? Stopped cold in his tracks, his eyesight was taken away before he began his ministry. Or I suppose we could choose any one of the disciples. They would all meet the requirements for our definition of stoppable. But how can we not consider the Old Testament Job. Given unbearable, excruciating sores from head to toe after losing his family, Job was in so much misery that as he laid in the dust, scraping the sores to find relief, he wished he had never been born. "Tho He slay me, yet I will trust Him." No match physically, but Job exercised faith without a stitch of muscle in a pool of misery.
Pastor Tullian (grandson of Billy Graham) writes, "We like our Christianity to be muscular, triumphant. We’ve come to believe that the Christian life is a progression from weakness to strength. But the message of the Gospel will only make sense to those who have run out of options and have come to the relieving realization that they’re not strong."
Ooof. Powerful stuff. And since nobody on earth is strong spiritually (with souls that will last eternity), how strong do you think we are physically with bodies that won't last a second in comparison? Yes indeed. To test his faith, God didn't bolster Job's body, He allowed it to suffer. Face in the dirt, Job was anything but muscular or self-confident. Guys, our weakness can't be overstated, but thankfully God's strength has never been exaggerated.
Jimmy Peña
For Discussion: Tomorrow we'll finish our series, but as we often do and for the first time this year, who reading this today could use prayer? With the new year in full swing, someone reading this might be facing struggles, worries, health woes and status quo. Let's go to the Lord together. If you'd rather not be specific, just say "Unspoken" and we promise to pray for you by name. With our faces in the dirt, let's stop and trust Him.
