So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, ha messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 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. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV)
I have been writing Morning Devotionals for almost three decades now and I have never been caught unprepared for a possible lapse in publication. With my typical habit of writing in advance of publication and the incredible work of John Willians of the Genesis Group, I’ve always had a reserve of devotionals for those times when I was not able to write… until now! My sincere apologies to all of you who follow these each day. I was surprised with a mandate from my cardiologist to check into the hospital on Thursday of last week for another heart catheterization and possible blockages. I simply didn’t have enough in the queue to be able to go uninterrupted for that length of time. There is good news in all of these events. They did find another blockage and were able to repair it with angioplasty. So, I’m back and feeling great. It also served as a reminder to the truth of our reading today as the Apostle Paul reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient for us and in my weakness his strength is made perfect (v. 9).
This round was particularly plain in reminding me how fragile my strength is. Further, that reminder extended to more than my continued physical weaknesses. I expect that to happen with the advancement in age. But sometimes I fear my reliance on my personal emotional and spiritual strength gets too self-centered instead of grace-centered. I can assure you that message was loud and clear with this last episode. Truthfully it is so easy to become more self-reliant when things are going well. I find it becomes more of a temptation than I can withstand when everything seems to be going well. We should all be reminded that nothing goes well with God’s intervention and relationship. I certainly hope you’re not as obtuse as I am. My reminders are always a bit glaring. Think about that in your life today.