Learning to rely upon the Lord rather than upon my own strength or wisdom has been my life struggle. The brief bio for my workshop “God’s Purposes in Trial and Suffering” summarizes me in a nutshell:
Melinda Inman comes from sturdy pioneer stock. She’s a tough nut to crack! Much of her spiritual growth has been accomplished through God’s tools of disaster, flood, calamity, financial ruin, and illness. Thankfully he isn’t done working yet! Melinda thinks if she weren’t so hard-headed, arrogant, and embittered, God could probably shape her to be a godly woman quicker and with much less effort on her part, but she seems to need to learn her lessons the hard way. How about you?
Can you relate? Is this you too?
God is faithful. He continues to work on me, as he continues to work on you. He brings about our spiritual growth. Maybe you’ve come to the end of yourself as a young mother with a passel of small children who daily challenge your organizational skills and patience. Maybe you’re trying to figure out how to both work and care for your family as a single mother. Maybe you’re facing cancer at forty. Maybe you’re in prison.
Don’t we all want spiritual growth to be easier than this? I don’t want God to have to use hardship to polish off my rough edges and to bring me to the end of myself, so I can learn how much I need him. I want him to work through success, accomplished goals, and fame. Maybe you feel the same.
But God knows the best way to make me into the woman he desires me to be—a humble woman, one who uses her gifting to tell others about God’s mercy. And he knows you that intimately as well.
In our weakness, God’s power is made perfect. Our weakness demonstrates that God has the power to bring us to maturity and completeness, that he does the work, not us. When we are weak, he shows himself strong as he enables our transformation and our ability to do what is right and good.
I want him to receive the glory. I want his strength shining in my life to draw people to him.
But my flesh doesn’t like this. I want to be strong in-and-of myself, accomplished, the go-to girl. I want everyone to know how smart and capable I am, how much I have it all together. My arrogance is appalling.
As I’m knocked down again, my energy levels falling and narrowing my capabilities, I’m soul searching.
- What am I to do now that my strength is so little?
- How do I rely on the Lord and for what?
- Where does he want me to push forward?
- Where does he want me to pull back? How?
ROBERTO CARLOS PECINO MARTINEZ via Compfight
Consistently God brings just what I need to hear at the time I need to hear it. Uplifting words greatly encouraged me this week. If you are now in a place of weakness and are praying for God’s strength, check out this article. I’ve read it repeatedly and am working through it in my ponderings. Click the link below.
Pray for the Strength that God Supplies by Jon Bloom, Desiring God, September 26, 2014.
Awww! The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree! I’m sorry that you got that trying to rely on your own strength AND having to learn things the hard way from your momma! Indeed, His idea of the strength we need is often far different from what WE think we need. It was in my early 50s that I was greatly challenged by cancer and learned to rely totally on Him. That is when I learned to love the hammock because it is a picture of relying totally on Him, and it makes you look up–to the heavens and to Him!
I’ve often thought of the similarities of our ages as I’ve gone through these last three years of intensive refining (on top of the slow and steady everyday refining—MUCH refining necessary for my prideful, self-reliant self). Your momma went through refining at the same time in her life. Maybe this is God’s faithfulness to teach us to rely on him for the perseverance to the end. It’s all him, not us. But I didn’t know that until he began to open my eyes to it in 1993 and continues through today. God is faithful!
Thank you Melinda — I needed these words today — both yours and the link that you posted. So great!
Aren’t we all growing and learning to rely on Jesus, Linda!