wrapped in weakness

Now that we are reaching the end of another year the time for self reflection has arisen.

(did I just use the word ARISEN!?   oh my)

For me 2013 has been a year full of.....how shall I put it.....personal trials that threatened at times to pull me under the rip tide of my flesh.  The lies the Devil has thrown at me have made me wanna put my hands over my ears and sit in a corner humming to myself.

"What do you think you are doing in Zambia?  This isn't a game!"  And my personal favorite "You have no clue what you are doing, you should just go home and leave this to the experts"

I have had to wrestle with my assumptions of what I thought was correct and all I have been taught over the years about submission and authority.  I have had to learn aspects of myself that have scared me, shamed me and brought me to my knees before God.    The glaring pride of my own achievements masked in humility.....GROSS!!  

To put in in other words, God has had to shake my tree so that the gross worm ridden fruit had to fall to the ground.  Jesus, the ever vigilant gardener of my soul has had some serious pruning to do in 2013. 

In the coming year when trials come, when difficult times hit and you are forced to your knees in dependance on the provision of God, please remember that God SEES YOU!  God HEARS you and God will NOT forget you!  

You must understand that I am writing this to myself as much as I write it to you.

I heard the most amazing message yesterday that helped remind me of the fact that God is in control!  Pastor Carter spoke about the sign of Jesus' birth and about how he would be wrapped is swaddling clothes.  All babies were wrapped in swaddling clothes, so what was so special about this baby?

I won't re-preach the sermon, but I will give you the point he was making.  Jesus, the creator of Heaven and Earth.....he who formed man out of dust with a BREATH...humbled himself and allowed himself to be wrapped in our weakness FOR OUR SAKES!

Meaning this today.....God CHOOSES to use you and I for his glory not for what we bring to the table, but because when He wraps himself in our weakness and frailty his glory shines the brightest.

Let me break it down further.....It doesn't matter that I don't have a clue half the time.  All that matters is that I stand where God tells me to stand and simply watch him work.  He doesn't NEED me to reach the hearts of the street children on Lusaka.  He is the creator of heaven and earth!  He chooses then instead to wrap himself in my weakness so that I am constantly and forever reminded that Jesus Christ is the center and the answer to all our questions, concerns and hurts.