Chapter 23
HIS POWER FOR YOUR WEAKNESS
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9 NIV
217 Power Up
"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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).
Power makes you more productive. You can clear leaves from your garage floor with a leaf blower in ten seconds. It takes a minute with a broom.
You need God's power to replace your weakness. Without His strength, you might complete a " Do" list, but not His.
How can you avoid power failure? God's power is constantly available. That’s never a problem. No life-storm can knock it out. Faith plugs you into it.
Trust God to do through you what you can’t do on your own. That includes loving those who’ve hurt you and much more. Abiding in Christ (John 15:5) is staying plugged into Him and His power.
To have an eternal impact, stay connected to Christ and His power. Read Hebrews 13.
218 January Dandelions
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2 NIV).
I’ve observed dandelions blooming somewhere in our yard in Pennsylvania every month of the year. April is the peak month. But a few adventurous plants parade their yellow blossoms unexpectedly at the oddest times, even in January.
They pay no mind to the thermometer or the calendar. They’re prepared to reproduce in season and out of season.
I’ve been involved in witnessing nights and evangelistic services. God’s word flew like dandelion seeds parachuting on spring breezes.
Evangelism isn’t my spiritual gift. Sometimes, I felt great relief after these witnessing ventures. It was the end of witnessing night. Or the evangelistic services were over for another year.
I easily forget that witness is something I am, rather than something I do. You’re born again to declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9)—as a way of life. Be a January dandelion!
How can you be a better witness as a way of life? Read James 1.
219 Saving the Best for Last
God is pruning and tending you so your last years can be your best! A semi-dwarf Bartlett pear tree in my father’s orchard lived thirty-seven years. I harvested its pears from 2013–2015.
My centenarian dad couldn’t harvest them any longer. I picked them green at the end of August. In about 10 days they ripened into sugary sweet, juicy, yellow delicacies.
The tree’s thirty-fifth year was its best! It yielded more than two hundred pears. A year later it was in obvious decline. The following year, the whole top of the tree broke off.
Increasing age can make you content to sit on the laurels of your previous service. Don’t start sliding halfway between third base and home plate!
Your last year of life might not be your best. But the years preceding that can bring unprecedented blessings to others!
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (Psalm 92:12–14 NIV).
You’re never too old to love God and others. You can still show kindness and caring even when your energy and mobility diminish.
You can send cards, make phone calls, and send encouraging electronic messages to others. I want to bless as many people as possible during my last years. What do you want?
How can you use your resources and experience to bless others now and beyond the grave? Read James 2.
220 Strength for Your Weakness
You have weaknesses. Your “go-to” strength source is revealing. Lance Armstrong blew the spokes off other racers’ bikes. He won seven straight Tour de France titles.
His wristband said Livestrong. His 2012 confessions revealed he’d secretly lived dope strong. He cheated to win.
The information available online can strengthen your weak areas. I learned how to change my car’s cabin filter on YouTube.
Nevertheless, you can’t Google and YouTube your way to a purposeful, meaningful, strong life. Your basic problem is you’re profoundly love-challenged. Apart from God’s strength, you’ll stay that way.
The LORD is my strength is an oft-repeated theme in the Bible (Exodus 15:2; Psalm 18:1, 22:19, 28:7, 118:14; Isaiah 12:2, 49:5; Jeremiah 16:19; Habakkuk 3:19).
God’s mighty power provides physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, relational, and ministry strength.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” [physical] (Isaiah 40:31 NIV).
“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word” [emotional] (Psalm 119:28 NIV).
“I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes” [Intellectual] (Psalm 119:99 NIV).
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” [spiritual] (Ephesians 6:10 NIV).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” [relational] (Galatians 5:22–23 NIV).
“If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides” [ministry] (1 Peter 4:11 NIV).
Don’t make the Lord’s strength your last option. Make it your “go-to” source!
How have you experienced the LORD’s strength recently? Read James 3.
221 The Hardest Thing You Can Do
You sometimes invent your version of the truth to avoid the pain of living the truth. You believe lies to avoid guilt.
“God is leading me to divorce my husband because He wants me to be happy.” By contrast, the ultimate truth of Georgia Congressman John Lewis’s life was the full equality of all people. He suffered to achieve it.
He summoned his country to be what it said it was but wasn’t—a land where all people are created equal. He was arrested forty-five times. His skull was fractured.
He was often beaten and tear gassed.1 He believed in the full equality of people. He lived it out.
Bruce Wilkinson told of a Christian man who confessed that he lied to everyone. He was afraid he couldn’t stop.
He listed twenty-six people to whom he’d lied. The first was his boss. He often lied on his timesheet. He was paid for the hours he didn’t work.
Furthermore, his boss had told him to lie to the customers. The man confessed his lies to his boss. He said he wasn’t going to lie to or for him anymore.
Their two-hour conversation convicted his boss of his lying. The boss said he’d never ask the man to lie for him again.
Usually, however, living the truth brings negative consequences. It’s contrary to the world’s operating system. It receives the world’s hate (John 15:19).
Living the truth daily is the hardest, most costly thing you can do. You need God’s grace to do it.
You live the truth when you keep your promises. “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19 NIV). The expected answer is, “No!”
God is your model. You live the truth when you keep your word. That includes preparing income tax returns, honoring marriage vows, or keeping verbal or written contracts. Psalm 15:4 says that the one who shall abide in God’s tabernacle and dwell in His holy hill keeps his oath even when it hurts.
Jesus is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). He fills you with both (John 1:17) as you follow Him.
You must stick to Him like a magnet to a refrigerator. Trust His grace for the hardest thing you can do—living the truth daily.
What makes living the truth so challenging? Read James 4.
222 Slay the Inferiority Dragon
Nearly everyone battles feelings of inferiority. Surprisingly, the Bible consistently affirms your value to God.
He created you in His image. He crowned you with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). He made you an overseer of His creation (Genesis 1:28). He sent His Son to deliver you from sin’s penalty (Romans 5:8).
The ultimate measure of your worth is that God paid Jesus to get you. You’re worth Jesus to God! Humility isn’t condemning yourself. Loving yourself isn’t sinful.
How can you slay the inferiority dragon? Don’t think God is against you when He is for you. That’s contrary to Romans 8:32. God’s giving His Son guarantees He will provide everything you need to serve Him. God is for you (Romans 8:31).
Why are you against and down on yourself? You don’t know anything about yourself that He doesn’t!
Violating God’s standards of right and wrong brings guilt and shame. It feeds inferiority’s fires. God’s plan to slay this dragon is to confess your sins and trust His cleansing (1 John 1:9).
Do you feel unsuccessful? You’re not beautiful, famous, rich, or an important member of society.
As a Christian, you don’t march to that drumbeat. You’re not on earth to make a name for yourself. Instead, you must deny yourself (Luke 9:23) and let your light shine so others will glorify God (Matthew 5:16).
Your parents may have focused far more on what you did wrong than right. They rarely praised or encouraged you. They compared you unfavorably to your siblings. They made you earn their affection. God isn’t like that.
No mule has won the Kentucky Derby! Are your expectations realistic?
Mom said you can do anything you set your mind to do. That doesn’t mean you can.
Most athletes I coach don’t have the natural abilities to excel in track and field throwing events. It doesn’t matter how hard they work at them. That’s okay.
No one is a ten everywhere in life. Identify and develop your gifts. Keep on developing your strengths, even though you frequently fail.
Finally, help others discover their gifts. Encourage them and seek to make them a success. That melts away your feelings of inferiority.
Have feelings of inferiority hindered your spiritual fruit? How will you change that? Read James 5.
223 I’ll Be Happy When
I’ve done my share of “I’ll be happy when…” thinking. “I’ll be happy when school gets out in June.” I was but I had to trudge through 180 unhappy school days to get there.
“I’ll be happy when I graduate from high school.” I was but I had to run the marathon of 2,160 school days to climb the happiness podium briefly.
“I’ll be happy when I’m done studying and can get a job.” I was but work life presented its problems.
You get the picture. Circumstantial happiness lasts only slightly longer than it takes to say it. Are you still living the “I’ll be happy when…” philosophy?
Do you feel like the happiness train always departs a minute before you arrive?
Does joy flutter like an elusive butterfly just out of reach? Is bliss conditional on something happening that hasn’t happened yet?
Do your circumstances have to change for you to be happy? Do you need to change how you think?
I’ve concluded there will always be cobwebs in the corners, marks on the walls, and dust on the carpets of my life. “I’ll be happy when…” doesn’t enhance today’s joy. I’m learning to focus on what I have rather than on what I don’t have yet.
I’m discovering that gratitude is the gateway to today’s happiness. At bedtime, I daily reflect on the blessings of the day.
I thank God for them. They typically include food, water, housing, clothing, relationships, and reflections on how my life touched someone’s life that day. I’ve concluded I’ll be happy when… I give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Try it!
Daily thank God for at least six blessings and see what happens. Read 1 Peter 1.
224 Is Depression a Sin?
Depression is the leukemia of the human spirit. It happens when days overflowing with doubts, despair, and discouragement run in packs.
The depressed are constantly sad, inefficient, and unenthusiastic. They’re without hope and down on themselves. They’re increasingly dependent on others. They withdraw socially. They often practice addictive behaviors to numb their pain.
Some are depressed without realizing it. They’re characterized by hypochondria or various impulsive behaviors. The most desperate opt for suicide. Women are twice as likely to experience depression as men.
Depression can result from genetics or wacky brain chemistry. Medications, medical issues, and avalanches of stressful events can cause it.
Neglecting our physical health can cause it. Bipolar disorder is genetically linked.
Depression seems to run in families. Reduced dopamine levels in the brain can cause it. Around two hundred prescription drugs have depression as a side effect.1
Physical problems associated with depression include too little thyroid hormone, heart disease, and MS. Add to the list Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntingdon’s disease.
Further, add a stroke, lack of vitamin B12, and problems with the parathyroid or adrenal glands. Lupus, mono, hepatitis, HIV, and cancer can also set it off. Seasonal Affective Disorder is depression linked to annual periods of shorter hours of daylight.
When perceived threats are long-lived, like the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the body and brain can be long-lasting.
Studies have shown early losses during childhood can affect chemical balances in the body for the rest of life. They make children more prone to depression.
Insufficient sleep, a lack of exercise, and eating too many unhealthy foods can also contribute to paralyzing emotional pain.
Depression envelops you when you can no longer believe God is good to you. In Scripture, you see its disabling, painful grip on Job, Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus in Gethsemane.
David wrote, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” (Psalm 43:5 NIV).
Trusting God is best. But He understands your weakness: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13–14 NIV).
Christians wrongly assume they should never be depressed. Depressed believers are no more unspiritual than believers with diabetes or high blood pressure.
Instead of shooting the emotionally wounded, follow Paul’s teaching, “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14 NIV).
What’s the next step for you to move from depression toward joy or to help a depressed person do so? Read 1 Peter 2.
225 Enduring Hope
You could benefit from a daily injection of a gardener’s enduring hope! A gardener holds a yellow wax bean seed in her hand.
She is utterly convinced that after it’s planted it will germinate. It will eventually produce yellow wax beans. She knows very well all sorts of forces oppose the fulfillment of her dream.
Fungal and insect attacks threaten. Drought or raiding rodents or deer. All could utterly crush her confident expectations. Nevertheless, she plants the seed in hope!
Hope is fading in the USA. Average life expectancy has dropped for three consecutive years because of suicide, drug, and alcohol-related deaths.1 COVID-19 dropped it still further.
It’s not far-fetched to attribute some of the declines to hopelessness. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among those 10–34 years old. It’s surrender to hopelessness.2
People choose and then overdo the anesthesia of alcohol and drugs. They do it to escape the tyranny of hopelessness. Over 1000,000 died from drug overdoses in 2021 in the U.S.3 There’s a better way!
So, how can hopelessness become enduring hope? Trust in Christ and His promises is the bridge to hope.
God is the only foundation on which hope can securely rest. That’s my experience. It’s also the experience of millions of others.
Those who don’t trust in Christ have no hope (Ephesians 2:12). But those who trust in the LORD renew their strength, soar like eagles, and move about with boundless energy (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)—energized by hope.
Through God’s word, they find hope (Romans 15:4). Through the power of His Spirit, they overflow with it continuously (Romans 15:13)!
How has Christ been for you the bridge between hopelessness and hope?
Read 1 Peter 3.
226 Hope without an Expiration Date
I’m sure you’ve noticed that unexpected circumstances play with earthly hopes like a cat with a mouse. Sometimes, the mouse escapes unharmed. Often, it doesn’t.
The year 2020 was like a wrecking ball to a building. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives and shattered hopes.
I’d hoped the economy would continue to smile upon my pension fund. That didn’t work out well initially. But then it bounced back and was better at the end of the year than before the pandemic struck.
The new normal for 2020 was a freedom-restraining regulatory fog. There was limited visibility ahead. You didn’t know how long the fog would last.
Earthly hopes have unanticipated expiration dates. All of them will someday crash into the immovable object of death.
Have you discovered a hope without an expiration date? It crosses the immovable barrier of death effortlessly.
Financial woes, unexpected unemployment, and shelter-in-place orders can’t destroy it. It’s a living hope. It’s anchored in the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.
It floods your soul when you’re born again. It’s not a dreaming variety of hope. Anchored in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it’s a confident expectation. It’s being fully persuaded God will fulfill all His promises.
Your hope includes an eternal inheritance. It has no expiration date. It’s kept in heaven for you. Skeptics’ arguments bounce off it like bullets off Superman. That’s because it’s a God-given, living hope.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3–4 NIV).
1 Corinthians 13:13 tells you how to live in the dark valleys of life— … “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” … (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV).
Where is unswerving hope grounded? How will you extravagantly demonstrate it today? Read 1 Peter 4.
227 Escaping Quicksand Sadness
Quicksand is dangerous! You need God’s help to stop replaying your mental tapes of offenses and failures.
The release comes from forgiving others and yourself. Allowing anger or guilt to find a home in your heart, will, like decaying fish, quickly stink up the whole place.
Challenge negative thinking. Just because you’re not perfect doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It doesn’t prove you can’t do anything right.
Yes, you feel stupid when you mess up. But that doesn’t mean you’re stupid.
You can have influence. You don’t have to be perfect for others to love you. Don’t dwell on your offenses and failures. Think about what’s good, positive, and just (Philippians 4:8).
You can always accomplish more with a positive (I can do this) than a negative attitude. Do the uncomfortable things you least want to do even if you’re afraid and unmotivated.
That’s often the key that opens your self-constructed jail cell. Others’ support and input can identify and correct your self-defeating thinking. That’s how God’s church should work (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Life’s joy bells lose their clapper when you are in the quicksand. Nevertheless, choosing to do one or two things daily that used to give you joy will eventually do so again. If the quicksand is especially deep and unyielding, medication may be necessary.
When you’re sad and unmotivated, it’s easy to neglect yourself physically. Resist that urge. Pursue a healthy diet and eight hours of sleep. Get at least 15 minutes of sunshine and 10–30 minutes of physical exercise daily. Regular exercise increases your energy level significantly.
Discouragement is your knee-jerk reaction to prolonged days on Mount Adversity. But embrace the bigger picture. James wrote that trials and temptations test your faith. They teach patience (James 1:2–4). God is at work. You’re under construction.
Beware of lashing out at others when you’re in the quicksand. You’ll do yourself a big favor if you choose to be kind despite difficulties. Studies demonstrate that expressing gratitude, love, and generosity to others boosts you out of depression’s pit.
Trusting God lifts your mind from the pit to the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Knowing God’s strength and supply in all circumstances, Paul learned to be joyful whether he had much or little (Philippians 4:11, 12, 13, 19).
You can pray in the pit with palms down to symbolize releasing your burdens. Then, palms up, symbolize receiving God’s enabling grace. Try it!
For the next 30 days refuse to play the mental tapes of your and others’ offenses and failures. Watch how they lose their power over you. Pray for God to bless those who’ve offended you. Read 1 Peter 5.
228 Confidence
Positive thinking isn’t all-powerful. But it carries immeasurably more horsepower than negative thinking. “I can” energizes you. “I can’t” drains your battery.
I can’t do jigsaw puzzles well. I don’t try. I joke that given a 1000-piece puzzle with 999 pieces already in place, I’d finish it in five to ten minutes!
With an attitude adjustment, I could learn to assemble jigsaw puzzles. I don’t yet want to badly enough to snip the ’t from can’t.
Persistence and confidence intertwine in solving problems and accomplishing goals. Like a tough black walnut, problems eventually crack under unrelenting pressure.
That approach has worked hundreds of times for me. It produces breakthroughs in everything from solving math problems to fixing something broken.
Persistence is good. Someone you trust to help you double-team every problem is better.
Those you trust and who believe in you and your ability inject confidence. Their “You can do it!” makes an enormous difference. It’s even better if they say, “I’ll be with you!” The best is, “I’ll be with you and help you do it!”
Eighteen times God says in Scripture that He’s with you. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV).
God’s promised presence is the ultimate launching pad for confidence. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 NIV). Snip, snip, snip! There goes the ’t!
How does God’s presence help change your perspective on difficult things you need to do? Read 2 Peter 1.