days of praise: I need grace

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may live in me.

-2 Corinthians 12:9

Admitting weakness is hard. I do not like to feel weak or vulnerable. Throughout my life I have always held leadership roles, been responsible, done what I was *supposed* to do. And somewhere along the way I started believing the lie that if people knew that I wasn't *ahem* perfect that I would no longer be seen as responsible or fit to serve in specific roles. And maybe there's some truth to that. Maybe I didn't need to say yes to every leadership role, and if I would have learned to ask for help earlier situations would have been a lot easier. Who was I [trying] to impress anyway. In truth, I have lived most of my life craving the accolades of man more than the those of my heavenly Father.

You see, I am the older brother from the story of The Prodigals Son, I naturally gravitate towards a Martha type of living rather than a Mary, I very easily can become a Pharisee. Thank goodness that He doesn't leave us where He finds us. As these truths are revealed to my soul he begins to chip away at my pride and selfishness. When I compare myself to others he reminds me gently of my own weaknesses, struggles, sins. 

So, what does it look like when I believe that power is perfected in weakness and truly rely on his grace? Palms open and up. What does it look when I boast in my weaknesses, allowing the power of Christ to work in and through me, rather than trying to hide them behind a mask of *having it all together?* Serving becomes more natural and I allow him to provide in unexpected ways. When I submit to the power of Christ I open up doors for miracles, and provide opportunities for his name to be praised. Because what happens, you see, is that when I am not enough he is more than enough always, and as we saw in the story of the snack pack of fish feeding thousands plus leftover baskets, God's multiplication is supernatural. And every time I allow him to multiply my weak efforts into his glorious bounty I learn more about his power, majesty, love. And the more I learn, the more I realize how little I actually know. In the words of the Mad Hatter, He's "much muchier." He's infinitely more (powerful, loving, wise, holy) than we can even think to think. Which is just awesome.

How can you praise him in your weaknesses? Is there an area of weakness that you are holding tightly to..let go and let Love, perfect Love, work powerfully in and through you.