Every Moment

2 Corinthians 12:8-10  ESV

Three times I pleaded with the LORD about this that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I was reminded this morning, that it is every moment of our lives that make us and not just the good things.  Our character flaws make us who we are. They push us to change and give us strength to see the change through.   Without our flaws we may have never completed a task, changed a particular thing in our lives, or become the people we are today.  If we take a careful look, we may find that the thing we despised the most in our lives, is the very thing that brings God the most glory.

I've been reminded over and over again the last few weeks as I spoke with other parents to remember that our children are not like us.  Sometimes this is due to the fact that we chose to "save them" from experiencing certain things in life.  I am not saying by any means that as parents we are wrong for ensuring our children do not suffer certain events in their lives.  Not at all.  There are some things that happened to us as children, that were not right, not okay and should never happen to anyone.  Yet, it was allowed to transpire because God knew that He put what it took inside of us to break the chains.  However, I do want you to consider this, that the things you experienced that were not all good, shaped you also.  So when we "save" our children or loved ones from experiences we must be careful not to expect for them to have developed the same tools and receive the same knowledge and understanding that we have.  

I now believe that I have a better understanding today, of why God would not remove the thorn in Paul's flesh and why Paul seemed to be able to have joy over his weak moments.  For God knew what it took to get Paul to become the man He called him to be and Paul understood that it is every moment of our lives that make us.

#EveryMoment  #EvenInWeakness  #GODisFaithful  #FaithOverFear  #NoCondemnation  #YouAreHIS  #HISloveCoversYou  #GrowInGrace  #YouAreAmazing  #FearfullyNWonderfullyMade