-Corinthians 12: 8-10
This passage reminded me of something I had long forgotten. God is enough. It is so easy to treat God like a commodity. Do we love God for what He can do for us, or do we love God?
Yes, He heals, He saves, He takes us out from our trials, but when all that is absent, remember that God Himself is enough. More than talking about Him and thinking about our ideas of Him, God wants us to talk to Him. And more than talking to Him, God wants us to have a conversation with Him. We only live to love Him. It's so easy to forget to love God, to forget how to love God. It's so easy to cheapen this love by turning it into a transaction. Ask God for something, get it, go. Ask God for something, don't get it, wait, get impatient, go. Of course He can heal us, take away our sufferings and everything, but He loves us so much that He wants to wake us up and remind us that we have been pulling away from Him. We haven't been spending time with Him.
When I read this passage I was just looking for comfort, looking for the words I already knew existed. I wanted to see, "Christ's power may rest on me... when I am weak, then I am strong..." and then I finally saw how selfish I had been. Always focusing on what I lacked and how much I was suffering and how God can save me, when I should have been focusing on God. "My grace is sufficient for you," God says. It's not really saying 'yay woops I have God's grace'. I mean, yes that is true, but it's more than that. It's that God is gracious. God is gracious. And God is enough. "My power is made perfect in weakness" is not really saying 'yay I am weak so now I wait for God to make me strong again', but that God is with me all the time and that He is working in my life ALL the time. He is not only present when I have peace, but He is also there when I am suffering. And through the bad times, God reveals Himself. And this is only because of His goodness, His grace, His mighty love. It all goes back to Him. I will delight in my suffering, because Christ's power will be made perfect through it. I will delight and be glad because God is with me. My life is in His hands, and I live to please the Lord. Therefore, I have no reason to worry in times of trials.
When you stop looking at yourself and what sorry state you're in, but look at others and see what you can do for them, you will be a happier person. A self-absorbed life is a bitter one. Don't treat love like money, it is not a commodity. It is not a transaction, nor is it a utility. Don't use love, just love. It is an outward expression. God tells us to love Him, love others, love our enemies. It's always about loving, and not about expecting to be loved back.
Read this passage many times before, but I'm always receiving different messages. The Bible is the living word of God, yes?