¿Tan necios sois?

Hello friends! I hope you are enjoying your lives half as much as I am enjoying mine. I know sometimes we all forget what a gift life is. We forget what a privilege it is to serve God. We forget what an undeserved honor it is to be called by Him into His family. I often look at my life in amazement. I can't believe that God would choose me over anyone else. And that is the focus of this week's rambling: My Weakness!
So, I just want to start by admitting that in the past I was often less than humble. Growing up in a Christian home, I was often judgemental of others and certain that I had my life pretty together. At least more than whoever happened to sit next to me in Sunday school. Then, about 4 years ago, I learned that I was completely wrong about myself. I was faced with, for the first time, the fact that next to God, my thoughts, plans and ideas are elementary at best.
Well, I was realizing that I had many areas of weakness, and so I began to work on them. I let God change me. I surrendered to Him any area which I saw as unpleasing, or less than great. And I know that was what God expected from me at the time. And God really worked at improving those areas in my life, and I am a better person because of it. But friends, He wasn't done.
You see, God does want our broken areas. He does want our weaknesses. He wants to change us and grow us in those areas. But He also wants our strengths. And if we don't give them to Him, He may just take them away.
Let me give you two examples: one from my life, and one from the Bible so you know I'm not just making stuff up.
This week, I was really struggling. Many of you, especially if you have known me for awhile, know that I am good with kids. God has given me natural talents in this area. I also believe I have been supernaturally gifted with the ability to teach. I hope that this doesn't sound arrogant because there is a point in me sharing this, and I get real humble by the end of the story, promise. Let me tell you, I taught Sunday school for the last two years, and there were times that I walked into a class having never seen the curriculum and threw together a lesson as I went. This is my strength.
But, let me tell you, the rules totally change when you throw in a new language. (And at the orphanage, there are 2 new languages: Spanish and Swiss German.) I went to the orphanage the last two weeks and tried to teach these kids ANYTHING, and they were not having it. I couldn't even get them to listen to me. I enjoyed my time with the kids but I felt kinda discouraged that I was completely unable to teach them. I didn't understand until I read the next example:
2 Corinthians 12:7-10: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassing great revelations there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power my rest on me. 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."
I have heard this passage so many times, but it meant something so great to me this time. Paul is saying that he was strong. He had his own strength, and that was good to him. But God gave him a weakness to remind Paul to not boast in His strength and to remember that even in our strengths we need God.
In the same way, God brought me to the last place on earth I would have brought myself, where they speak the language I hated, and taught me that HE gave me my strength, and that in that strength, I still need Him. He made me weak so He could make me strong.
Now, if anything is accomplished in my ministry here, it will be obvious that God made it happen. And this is how I prepare myself. By reading Scriptures like this:
Psalm 46:1,5,10 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble... God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day... 'Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.'"
My challenge: that you would strive to rely on God in your strengths as well as your weaknesses.
Gálatas 3:3--"¿Tan necios sois? ¿Habiendo comenzado por el Espíritu, ahora vais a acabar por la carne?"