Tracy
11/13/2018
3:40:38 PM | |  | |
STRENGTH FOR TODAY by Sharon Broyles
STRONG AT THE BROKEN PLACES
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10
The gold chain holding my grandfather's railroad retirement pin was fragile, and it broke easily. I wore it around my neck every day, and it often got caught in my clothing. If I pulled on it accidentally, a weak spot in the delicate links would give way. After taking it to a jeweler several times and having the broken ends soldered together, I noticed that it never broke in the same place twice. Once broken and repaired, one small area was stronger than the entire rest of the necklace that had never been broken.
"The world breaks everyone," wrote Ernest Hemingway, "and afterward many are strong at the broken places."
If I let Him, God will invade this weakness of illness and make me strong in the area I feel most vulnerable. In Him, my life can have a powerful effect on others for Christ's sake.
Simone Weil wrote, "The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering but a supernatural use for it."
Lord, I am weak today; make me strong. I am hurting today; heal my sadness. I am broken today; mend my grief. Living with illness is hard, Lord; lift me up. Take my suffering and use it today. |
