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brusk 
9:30am, June 29, 2009
He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor. 12:9-10
One of the side effects of chemo is listed by its medical name “asthenia,” which means weakness. Interesting, isn’t it, that this is the Greek term used by Jesus when He explained to Paul why He wouldn’t remove his “thorn in the flesh” (spoken of in the verses just prior to 9 and 10 above). He said to Paul, “My grace (charis = love and joy!) is sufficient for you, for My strength (dynamis = dynamite?) is made perfect (brought to completion) in asthenia.” You think this isn’t comforting to me?
Believe it or not, Paul is asserting that in his direst straits and indeed because of them, God gave him His power. This weakness cannot possibly refer only to our frail and sinful mortal bodies, because Paul paints a graphic picture of five of the most horrible circumstances we can face: sickness and depression, insulting insolence, difficult duties, persecution, and claustrophobic calamity.
How can God give us His strength in the worst moments of our lives? I asked myself, “How is God giving me strength in my fight with cancer?” For one thing, He’s helping me to persevere through the greatest weakness I’ve ever felt, which began when I started Sutent. At times I just want to lie down and sleep; everything seems too difficult. I dragged through yesterday, but today I have amazing energy. The Lord—through the prayers of His people*—gives me encouragement to persevere, hope for survival, challenges to be courageous. Look at what the Lord said he does:
To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness... Isaiah 61:3
*One way this happens is that my mom emails prayer requests to friends according to my daily response to her question, “How are you feeling today?” The other way is that the Lord touches someone to think of me and pray.
Comments
I'm praying, my dear Becki. Love You!
msgrace
Dear Becki - you can count on me to think of you and pray. Hugs, Carol
Dragonstar55
Becki - Your ability to see the beauty and love of God in scripture is inspiring. I'm praying that you are fully able to embrace God's peace and his rest for your soul.
"And the peace of God, which transcends all our powers of thought, will be a garrison to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7)
There is what is called the "cushion of the sea." Down beneath the surface that is agitated by storms, and driven about with winds, there is a part of the sea that is never stirred. When we dredge the bottom and bring up the remains of animal and vegetable life we find that they give evidence of not having been disturbed in the least, for hundreds and thousands of years. The peace of God is that eternal calm which, like the cushion of the sea, lies far too deep down to be reached by any external trouble and disturbance; and he who enters into the presence of God, becomes partaker of that undisturbed and undisturbable calm.--Dr. A. T. Pierson
- Karen
kkzimm
I find the words claustrophobic calamity an interesting coupling of ideas. Calamity can certainly be claustrophobic for we feel trapped, closed in, suffocating in the challenging circumstance. As believers we know there is nothing that can befall us that is beyond our Saviors arms. Nothing can separate us from His love. No matter how the trial comes upon us, we can trust Him implicitly because we know good and perfect gifts come from Him. Even the efforts of our adversary to destroy us are met with His plan to turn it to our good. Safe in His arms we can rest and trust He does all things well. Praying now for you Becki.
angelayoung