What Great Boasts You Have, My Dear

I'm sorry that I have been bad this week and have not posted any devotions. I've been kind of busy, but alas, it is a bad habit to get into. In lieu of 4 posts this week, I'm going to post tonight and tomorrow. Today I wanted to take some time to share with you all what God laid on my heart today on the airplane...

Many of you know that I've had a rough few days and today as I sat down in the airport to have a semi-quiet time I prayed the following words to God, "Father, today as I look into your Word I pray that you speak to me." It's funny, but when you ask Him for it, He comes through. Here is what He said to me, I don't know if it will mean anything to you, just wanted to give you some insight into my heart.

2 Corinthians 11:30-33; 12:6-10
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus, the governor under King Aretus had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.
Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly 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 may rest on me. That is why for Christ sake I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul has many things about which he could boast. He was a Jew, born into the tribe of Benjamin. A Pharisee. He had been to the right schools, trained by the right teachers; he had connections with the right people and had the right blood coursing through his veins.

I too, have much to boast about. I was born into a Christian home in the Bible Belt of the United States of America. I was taught the stories of Jesus by my mother and grandmother from the time I was old enough to listen. Taken to church my whole life. I had grown up in RAs and Children's Choir. While other children read nursery rhymes, my favorite children's book was When God Made Baalam's Donkey Talk. Dedicated as a baby, converted as a child and baptized before I could even spell the word. I had a great family with a mother and a father who loved me and sought the best for me. I went to a private Baptist University, did medical research at a prestigious medical school, graduated seminary from one of, if not the, largest theological seminary in the largest denomination of Christianity there is. I married a woman who feared the Lord and who saved herself for me. Now I work in a Southern Baptist Church serving God with my family. I meet all of the standards set by the SBC. I've never been divorced, I don 't speak in a private prayer language; I'm faithful to my wife. I have much to boast in, as does Paul. I'm greatly gifted. I have been given the ability to do many different things from music to speaking to writing to sports. God has gifted me so much, I have so much to be proud of.

So do you. Think of the things that you could boast of, if you did as Paul does in 2 Corinthians 11:16-29.

But Paul finds no boast in all of his accomplishments. In fact, the one thing that he does boast in, is perhaps the one most humiliating moment of his life. A time when he had to be lowered from a window in order to avoid the Damascenes. As I look back on my life, I wonder in what moment or moments I should boast.

Perhaps the day some 28 years ago when Dr. Peter Wright told my mother that I wouldn't live to be five because of Chronic Granulomatous Disease. Perhaps it was one of the many times when I have been ill and needed to rely on others to take care of me. Perhaps it was when God called me away from a career in medicine to serve Him in full time ministry. Perhaps my moment is yet to come. Regardless of what this moment in my life may be, it is so easy to find myself looking at my life and boasting. Boasting about my gifts, my family, my accomplishments. But I realize that this is exactly what Paul has worked so hard to avoid, and what I should work hard to avoid as well. It is easy to become conceited no matter how much or how little God has blessed you. Perhaps that is why God has given me my own little version of Paul's thorn. More times than Paul I have pleaded with God to take it away from me. More times than I care to remember I have said or thought that I would do anything just to be normal. But over and over again God's silence to me echos His words to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you."

So Father, forgive me for becoming conceited about your blessings. Remind me that when I am weak, you are strong. God help me to learn how to delight in my weakness so that the power of Christ my rest on me. Remove my pride and conceit. God I pray that you display your power in my weakness even now as I face this new trial in my life. I need You to be strong because right now I am so very weak. Thank you for reminding me of my weakness, so that I can be reminded of just how powerful you are.