Thanks for Thorns

Tiredness seems to happen more often lately. I don't like it. Physical weakness, though, isn't the worst. After all these years, I still struggle with self-discipline of both mind and body. And then there's spiritual weakness; I'd like to have more power from God to make a true difference in the world for his glory. These thoughts about weakness sent me back to the April 8 reading in the devotional book Streams in the Desert. I had marked it then, feeling weak that day too, I guess. So I'll pass it along:

"'That is why, for Christ's sake, I deligiht in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Corinthians 12:10). The literal translation of this verse adds a startling emphasis ...'Therefore I take pleasure in being without strength ... for when I am without strength, I am dynamite.'

The secret of knowing God's complete sufficiency is in coming to the end of everything in ourselves and our circumstances. Once we reach this point, we will stop seeking sympathy for our difficult situation or ill treatment, because we will recognize these things as the necessary conditions for blessings. We will then turn from our circumstances to God, realizing they are the evidence of Him working in our lives." (This part by A.B. Simpson)

"George Matheson, the well-known blind preacher of Scotland, once said, 'My dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses but not once for my thorns. I have always looked forward to the place where I will be rewarded for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as a present glory itself.

'Teach me, O Lord, to glory in my cross. Teach me the value of my thorns. Show me how I have climbed to you through the path of pain. Show me it is through my tears I have seen my rainbows.'"

I'm not in pain, and I'm not shedding tears; only feeling weak. (Oh! I do hate that word!) So, like Matheson, I want to thank God for it, climb to him through the path of weakness, and see rainbows and dynamite through it!

The garden is smiling after yesterday's rain. Happily, things dried up just long enough for the pre-wedding picnic in Greensboro for our second cousin. We'll be delighted to welcome her dear fiance to the family next Saturday, and we're sorry that our long-planned family trip keeps us from going to the Michigan wedding. They're both gentle, creative, loving, and committed to God.

Have a great Sunday.
Carol