A Revelation of the Father’s Love

Lately, everything I learn and experience is becoming a fresh revelation of the Father’s wonderful love for me. There is no other road that I choose to travel on these days. I have lived too long under the law. For too many years the traditions of man and the legal dos and don’ts of Christianity have encumbered my love relationship with my Father and my precious Jesus. Now I know and am learning still that in all things and in every way My Abba Father loves me.

So what is this revelation I am living in today? There are areas in my life that I struggle with almost daily. Oh, they may not be huge outward areas of sin and temptation that you can see but they are nevertheless real and very bothersome to me. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “There was given to me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, sent to buffet or torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.” But, Paul tells us that the Lord only kept saying one thing to him about the whole situation… “My Grace Is Sufficient for you for my power or my strength is made perfect in your weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

Recently I heard a wonderful sermon about these verses and it caused me to really think about this whole “weakness” issue. For years I had been taught that as a Christian I should be able to stand on God’s Word, pray, fast, confess, go to church, pay my tithes and voila I would be a STRONG Christian. Well, I have done all that and still over and over again I find times that I repeatedly fall flat on my face in some areas.

This morning in a brief time of prayer it seemed like a light went off in my head and heart. All of a sudden I felt the greatest urge to thank the devil for the areas that I fall most often in. I wanted to climb to the top of one of these West Virginia Mountains and shout…. I Glory in my weaknesses! “I will boast the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” “I delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties for when I am weak then I am strong. “ 2 Cor. 12: 9-10 NIV That’s what Paul declared and that is what I want to declare. Thanks devil for reminding me of my weaknesses, thanks a lot for the stuff you throw at me. All of these things cause me to do one thing…. FALL INTO and LEAN UPON THE ARMS OF MY LOVING FATHER!!!

Let me bring it home. You see for years I have worried about money matters. I come from a long line of fretters over finances. It seems no matter where I am in life, if I have plenty I often worry that it won’t last, and it doesn’t. If I have little I’m tempted to worry about where and when I will have plenty again. And if that weakness (sin) is not enough I then find myself looking at people instead of my faithful Father to meet my need for “financial security”. There it is - my confession of my sin and my weakness. Satan has had a hey day “buffeting” me in that area. For all my repentance, tears and struggles these sinful thoughts have often troubled me.

Now what do I do? I GLORY in my weakness, my temptation to think fear filled, worry filled, thoughts because they increase my need to cry out to my Father for forgiveness, for help, for mercy, for love and understanding, for strength and so much more. Guess what He does? He comes and says here, give me your weaknesses. I already gave my Son so that you could be free from the weight of your sin. Now I will give you my strength and my eternal weight of Glory. “For our light affliction, which is for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV

What a Divine exchange. I acknowledge my weaknesses. I embrace my desperate need for my “Daddy” to help me and He picks me up every time and He strengthens me and He clothes me with His glory. What a trade off! What a life! What victory in Jesus that comes not from my being strong enough to fight the devil, but in being weak enough to recognize my ongoing need for a Savior!

From this day forward my prayer is that I will not be ashamed or embarrassed to admit that I am weak in some areas. To acknowledge that in some areas Satan seems to have the ability to constantly beat me up, but he doesn’t get it! In all of this I am more than a conqueror because I have a revelation that is higher and greater. My Father loves me and His grace is big enough to hold me in His strong arms. In that place, I will be clothed upon with His glory so that the power of Christ might be revealed in my life through the very weaknesses that Satan hoped to use to snuff me out. I believe that there will be more accomplished to the advancing of the Kingdom of God, more fruit produced to His glory and more joy unspeakable than I have ever experienced for all my striving to prove myself to be a “strong Christian”. What freedom, what grace, what love!!!