2 Corinthians 12:9--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.
I really have enjoyed my time with God these past few days. I have really struggled to be consistent in my alone time with God over the past several weeks letting homework, classes and work be my excuse for not taking the time. Even the first few days of break I let them slide. But yesterday I just really had this desire to spend time alone with God and I'm so glad I didn't put it off! I really needed what I learned yesterday and today. Mary Southerland did a 2 part devotional about finding hope in the midst of the darkness & pits we find ourselves in (whether we were the ones to get there because of making wrong choices or if they just came our way). She showed 4 steps to follow...
1. Identify the purpose of the pit.
Why are we going through this? How did we get into this pit we're in? "I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." (Psalm 40:1-3, NIV).
2. Choose a response to the pit.
We may not totally understand why we're going through what we are, but we do have a choice on how to respond in this pit. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, “So that I would not become too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me, a painful physical problem was given to me. I begged the Lord three times to take this problem away from me.But he said to me, ‘My grace is enough for you.’” We can become bitter and blame God for the pain or we can give up and wallow in the mire and mud of that slimy pit. I am guilty of plastering a smile on my face, gritting my teeth and denying that the pit even exists. However, the choice we should make is to trust God, knowing He will deliver us in and from the pit.
3. Embrace the power of the pit.
2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.’ So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can live in me.” God’s grace turns defeat into victory, tragedy into triumph and weakness into strength by providing real power over circumstances. People without Christ can muster up enough courage and human strength to get through a trial. God will not only enable us to survive the hard times, He wants us to thrive in and because of them.
4. Find joy in the pit.
2 Corinthians 12:9 “I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can live in me.” Joy is not an earthly treasure but a heavenly gift from our loving Father who is committed to the joy of His children. I am convinced that God entrusts the greatest trials to those who will respond to them in the right way. I love the story of the little girl who misquoted her favorite Bible verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have ever-laughing life.” Jesus wants to give us a life of joy, pits and all. We need to remember that joy is the deeply-rooted confidence that God is in control and that our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outer circumstances. We can find joy in the pit.
God's allowed a lot of "pits" in my life but through each one I'm learning to have joy through them. I certainly didn't start out that way, but as I've learned more of God and his love, grace and mercy I have been able to find joy even in the "pits" of life. I'm still growing and I know that I still have a ways to go. I'm excited to see where God is taking my life!!! I know that His will is best and even if it includes hard times, I know that in the end I'll be able to grow closer to my Savior and be able to have others see me and say, "She has an indescribable joy in her life even during the hard times" and I'll know that joy comes from God--my Savior!
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