Life beyond ourselves

Paul the apostle understood what it meant to be pushed to the limits of his life
many times. His letters showed he knew a lot about struggles, hardships,
and trials. But he was most knowledgeable about what was supreme in the seasons
of his painful experiences – glorifying Jesus through his weakness.

We
do not like to feel helpless or out of control of our own lives. But we can
learn from Paul and from our life experiences that the prelude to great
strength is great weakness. An important lesson of the Christian life is that
our weakest moments, when we feel most desperate are the very times when God is
freest to do greater work by empowering and strengthening us. In those
difficulties when we whisper, “God, I cannot go on…”, “I cannot take this…” we
are granted the best equipping and the greatest enabling grace to wait, to endure and
to suffer unto fruitfulness.

Did
I just say suffer? Oh no! This is one of the most hated English words today, especially
within the Christian community. Suffering of any kind must be evil; as far as
many are concerned. For many, suffering and prosperity are mutually exclusive. So, there’s a deliberate attempt by some to expunge the word
from their lingo and redefine its ideology. Nonetheless, God allows it in different forms and shades to press us to
reach beyond ourselves so we could totally embrace His extravagant love and His
abundant life.

As
I see suffering in the world around me today, I conclude that human nature abhors
it. We all cry out for strength, courage, and adequacy to meet life’s challenges.
 The content of our prayers reveal how
much we dread inexplicable situations. So, many of us avoid fiery trials and valley experiences at all costs. 

The fear of confronting our weakness(es) weighs heavy on our conscience. We
tell our self, “I am able to handle this…”(even when we know we can’t). We
think and work on our own terms; believing our own strength is sufficient. We
may not verbalize this, but our actions and reactions often reveal our resolve.
Unfortunately, sometimes we settle for what we know, what we can understand, what makes
sense and what is convenient. What a pity!?

Some
of us may never experience or embrace God’s supernatural empowerment unless we hit
the bottom. The bottom waits for those who carefully hide their weakness from those that could help them. Sooner or later, it will seep out. But why wait till then, when we could surrender to His
dealings now? The Lord’s sufficiency is at the place of weakness and
brokenness. No matter what is going on in our lives, there’s always a power[full]
provision available to the believer who leans hard on God.

If
indeed He can do exceeding, abundantly, above and all we can ask or imagine, why
should we settle for a peace (or things) that come with understanding, when He promises
a peace that passes all understanding? Isn’t this that atmosphere of tranquil
that can be set in the human soul in moments of peril; making danger, pain and death seem trivial? Only God by His Spirit gifts this to the believer that dares
to seek it.

It’s
been a trying season for me and many friends I know. But God’s word remains a source of hope.

Apostle Paul urges us to”…have joy in our
troubles: in the knowledge that trouble gives us the power of waiting; And waiting gives experience; and experience,
hope: And hope does not put to shame;
because our hearts are full of the love of God through the Holy Spirit which is
given to us. ” (Romans 5:3-5)

Author: Uche Izuora

I'm inspired by God’s passion for His name in every generation, which provokes global worship through Jesus Christ. Becoming an emotionally healthy and transformative disciple, I aim to mobilize the Church to engage in cross-cultural missions and raise other like-minded disciples who discover themselves in Christ and seek to present and represent Him as Savior and Lord among the nations northward of Uganda. View all posts by Uche Izuora