> Practical Family Living

. . . I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I did not think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12 (the Message)

All of us have weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Most of us have struggled long and hard with those vulnerabilities and may still be in a wrestling match with them. We struggle to be rid of them; we struggle with the fact that they are in our lives (how unfair is that?). We get angry and guilt ridden that we can't do anything about them, and we can be very harsh on ourselves as we go through the difficulties they produce.

What if we were to make friends with the very things we have been wrestling with? I am not referring to making friends with sin here. I am referring to our understanding that there are certain vulnerabilities and limitations that are hard wired into our makeup, that need first to be accepted and understood. This is a vital step in self-acceptance. Once this takes place, we can stop fighting ourselves. We can offer ourselves the grace that Jesus offers us. Then we can "come into" the strength that Paul speaks of above in 2 Corinthians. When we get out of the way of what God wants to do in us and through us, we then see His power and might at work.

Paul goes a step further in acknowledging his vulnerability as a gift. He was reminded of his limitations by the handicap, and was grateful for the humility it produced in him. What an attitude. Of course this attitude did not come immediately, Paul begged God to remove it. But God spoke to Paul saying you already have what you need, my grace. He continued to reveal to Paul that it is precisely when we are up against a wall, incapable of solving our problem, that He comes in by the power of His spirit to be the strength of our heart and our portion forever. This is the step of surrender.

I have seen God's children (His people) come into an acceptance of their vulnerability, to embrace the parts of them that seem very inadequate and unlovable. I have seen the presence of the Lord transform the manner in which they behave and move through their life circumstances because they have allowed His strength to come into its own in their minds and hearts. May God give you the courage to accept and surrender the areas of your life in which you are vulnerable and may you be blessed by the strength you find in Him.