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The War Cry | APRIL 2013
22
The War
Challenging
Challenges
the
The twelve disciples did not find their strength and bold-
ness until God sent the Holy Spirit to empower them.
The apostle Paul had his weaknesses and was once
a persecutor of Christians. He writes in 2 Corinthians
12:5, "I will not boast about myself, except about my
weaknesses." He describes "a thorn in his flesh" that
God would not remove, even after pleading repeatedly
with God to do so. He then concludes, "For when I am
weak, then I am strong."
I have a good friend who had a very severe case of
stage fright. When he had to give a practice sermon as
part of a class, his stress was so great that he actually
suffered a mild heart attack while delivering it. Shortly
after that, he was asked to deliver a sermon at our
church. His initial reaction was, "Who, me? I can't even
speak publicly without suffering a heart attack!"
Nevertheless, his faith and trust in the Lord were
so strong that, after prayer and discernment, he knew
the Lord had called him to speak and would equip him.
Since that day he has been effectively serving the Lord
by conducting numerous worship services and through
sermons as a church lay leader.
About two years ago I was asked to lead a monthly
worship service at a senior retirement home. For numer-
ous reasons (weaknesses), in addition to health limi-
tations, this was something I had never pictured my-
self doing. My initial response was, "Who, me?" But I
stepped out in faith and obeyed. In addition, the Lord
has expanded this ministry, so I am also conducting a
weekly Bible study as well as serving at another senior
retirement home. It is amazing to look back and see
how the Lord has opened doors for me to minister to the
elderly! Again, the Lord has equipped and empowered
me to turn my weaknesses into strengths.
I am not attempting to minimize the strong limita-
tions many of us have that might detract from our
ability to serve as we would like. But the Lord calls
each one of us to serve Him and perhaps to stretch
ourselves in some way. For some, this might be as sim-
ple as being a prayer warrior; for others, it may be some-
thing more. Perhaps we are to minister to others suffering
from the same difficulties we have struggled with, such as
debilitating illnesses, aging, depression or loneliness.
What might the Lord be asking you to do? If your re-
sponse is "Who, me?" the Lord can equip you, just as
He did Moses at the burning bush. Let the Holy Spirit
work within you to turn your weaknesses into strengths.
Perhaps, like Paul and those in this story, you too
may someday boast that the Lord has turned your
thorns into roses.
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Therefore I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses, so that Christ's
power may rest on me. That is why, for
Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses ...
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Cor. 12:9-10).
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