DAY 1: August 17, 2009
TITLE: “TO KEEP ME FROM BEING CONCIETED”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “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.” II Corinthians 12:7
When April, our oldest daughter was little, we placed a little fence in front of the stairs to keep her from going up. When Amanda, our youngest daughter was little, we placed a little fence or guard rail in front of the stairs so she would not fall down the stairs. As loving parents, we used the little fence to keep our girls from falling down the stairs or getting hurt.
God is the loving Father that loved Paul so much that He used a thorn in the flesh to keep him from becoming conceited. The higher Paul’s work, the more he needed humility. Paul had experienced surpassingly great revelations. To keep them from leading Paul to pride and conceit, God used a thorn in the flesh. God wanted to protect Paul from forgetting his dependence upon God.
The story is told that Lady Nancy Astor, the first woman ever seated in the British House of Commons, encountered a lot of male antagonism -- but proved herself capable of giving as well as receiving in that arena. Once, at a formal dinner, Lady Astor said to her neighbor that she considered men to be more conceited than women. Noticing that she had been heard around the table, she continued loudly: "It's a pity that the most intelligent and learned men attach the least importance to the way they dress. Why, right at this table the most cultivated man is wearing the most clumsily knotted tie!" The words were scarcely out of her mouth before every man in the room secretly reached up to adjust his tie.
Conceit is a dangerous road to travel. To be conceited is to entertain a flattering opinion of oneself. It is the opposite of humility and meekness. Conceit can quickly become a roadblock to trust in God and dependence upon Him. Humility is at the heart of trusting in the Lord. Peter instructed us, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I Peter 5:6-7
God sought to keep Paul from becoming conceited. Has God allowed a situation or circumstance in your life to keep you from becoming proud or conceited? Spiritual pride quickly forgets that all that we are and ever hope to be depends upon God.
A PRAYER
“Dear Lord: Thank you for the things you have used in my life to keep
me from becoming conceited. Lord, keep me humble and totally dependent upon
you.”
DAY 2: August 18, 2009
TITLE: “THREE TIMES I ASKED”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.”
II Corinthians 12:8
Have you ever asked the Lord over and over again to take
something away from you, but He didn’t do it?
Have you ever prayed, asking God to do something and He didn’t do it the
way you asked? In her book, Tramp for
the Lord, Corrie ten Boom tells
the story of an old woman she met in
The old woman was lying on a small sofa, propped up by pillows. Her body was bent and twisted almost beyond recognition by the dread disease of multiple sclerosis. Her aged husband spent all his time caring for her since she was unable to move off the sofa … [The only part of her body she could control was her right hand. And, with the index finger of that hand, she had for many years glorified God by typing on a vintage typewriter beside her]. All day and far into the night, she would type. (She translated Christian books into Russian). Always using just that one finger—peck … peck … peck—she typed out the pages. Portions of the Bible, the books of Billy Graham … and Corrie ten Boom …
"Not only does she translate books," her husband said, as he hovered close by during our conversation, "but she prays for these [people] every day while she types. Sometimes it takes a long time for her finger to hit the key, or for her to get the paper in the machine, but all the time she's praying for those whose books she's working on." [Corrie ten Boom writes]: I looked at her wasted form on the sofa, her head pulled down and her feet curled under her body. "Oh Lord, why don't you heal her?" I cried inwardly. Her husband, sensing my anguish of soul, gave the answer. "God has a purpose in her sickness. Every other Christian in the city is watched by the secret police. But because she has been sick so long, no one ever looks in on her. They leave us alone and she is the only person in all the city who can type quietly, undetected by the police."
One day, Corrie received a letter from the lady's husband describing the day she had gone home to be with the Lord. The husband explained that the woman had worked until midnight that very night of her death, typing with one finger to the glory of God. Who would have thought that multiple sclerosis could be a gift from God?
Sometimes God does not do what we ask, for what we ask is not the best for us or others. Paul urgently pleaded with the Lord three times to take away the thorn from him. God had a better idea and had something better in mind for Paul.
Paul teaches us that we can trust God with unanswered prayers. God does not have to take something away from us to meet our needs. He can give something greater than the answer we requested.
DAY 3: August 19, 2009
TITLE: “GOD’S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “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.” II Corinthians 12:9
Joni Eareckson Tada is a quadriplegic speaker and author. Confined to a wheelchair, with virtually no physical strength whatsoever, she has changed the world. Joni tells the story of being in a ladies' restroom during a Christian Women's Conference. A well-meaning woman who was putting on lipstick in front of the mirror said to her, "Oh, Joni, you always look so together, so happy in your wheelchair. I wish I had your joy!" Several women around nodded, "Yes, how do you do it?" they asked.
Joni replied, "I don't do it. Let me tell you how it works. After my husband, Ken leaves for work at 6:00am, I'm alone until I hear the front door open at 7:00am. That's when a friend arrives to get me up. While I listen to her make coffee, I pray, 'Oh, Lord, my friend will soon give me a bath, dress me, sit me up in a chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door. I don't have the strength to face this routine one more time. I have no resources. I don't even have a smile to take into the day. But you do, Lord. May I have yours? God, I need you desperately."
"So what happens, then, when you're friend comes through the bedroom door?" one of the women asked. "I turn my head toward her and give her a smile sent straight from heaven. It's not mine. It's God's. And so," she said, gesturing to her paralyzed legs, "whatever joy you see today was hard won this morning."
God's grace has been enough for Joni, but she's had to appropriate it every day. And, so do we. In the face of weakness, we can discover the sufficiency of God’s grace. God can give us enough grace for every day. The sufficiency of God’s grace is experienced in our daily dependence upon God’s grace. As one author said, “God’s incredible grace is there to pick you up, to revive lost hope, to heal broken bones, and to strengthen your weak will. It is never inadequate, nor is it ever depleted. It never spoils and it has no expiration date.” (Ann Shorb). Each and every day, we can drink from the everlasting spring of God’s grace. Regardless of what you are going through today, you will find that when you depend upon the Lord, His grace is always enough.
“Just when I am disheartened, Just when with cares oppressed,
Just when my way is darkest, Just when I am
distressed,
Then is my Saviour near me; He knows my every care.
Jesus will never leave me; He helps my burdens bear
His grace is enough for me, for me; His grace is enough for me
Thro’ sorrow and pain, Thro’ loss or gain,
His grace is enough for me.”
J. Bruce Evans, 20th Century
DAY 4: August 20, 2009
TITLE: “CHRIST’S POWER”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “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.” II Corinthians 12:9
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have lived during the time of Jesus and spent time with Him and His disciples? Imagine what it would have been like to be with Jesus and His disciples the day He told them to go over to the other side of the lake. What would your reaction be as a storm came down on the lake so powerfully that the boat was being swamped and you were in great danger? Think what it would be like to watch as Jesus woke from His sleep and rebuked the wind and the raging waters and all was calm. “In fear and amazement the disciples asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’” Luke 8:22. How breathtaking it would be to watch the stormy sea become calm at His powerful command.
Imagine what it would be like to be with Jesus as He made His way through a crowd on His way to heal the daughter of Jairus. As Jesus made His way through the crushing crowd, a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years came behind Jesus. She touched the edge of his cloak and was immediately healed. Jesus stopped and said, “Who touched me?” The disciples tried to point out the crowd of people. “But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Luke 8:46. Imagine what you would feel as the woman came and fell at His feet, giving testimony that she had been healed. Jesus said “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” Luke 8:48. What a demonstration of power that would be to experience.
Imagine what it would be like to continue to walk with Jesus to the house of Jairus. As you walked along, someone came and said the daughter had died. With hope, Jesus said to Jairus, “don’t be afraid, just believe,” Luke 8:50. And, He kept going to the house. When He arrived, Jesus spoke and said, “my child, get up!” Her spirit returned and at once she stood up.” Luke 8:54. How would you respond to that demonstration of God’s power?
Though you and I cannot go back in time and walk with Jesus during His time on earth, we can still experience His power at work in our lives. Jesus still walks with His people today. Jesus still has the power to meet our every need today. His great power is made complete in our weaknesses. Our weakness is an opportunity to experience God’s power at work in our lives. Will you make room for God’s power in your life today?
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
DAY 5: August 21, 2009
TITLE: “WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “That is
why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
II Corinthians 12:10
In September of 1995, Guideposts magazine published the story of Jim Stovall, who became totally blind at age 29. While he still had partial vision, he volunteered at a school for the blind. He was assigned to help a four-year-old boy, blind and severely handicapped.
Stovall spent considerable time trying to convince the boy he could tie his own shoes or climb stairs in spite of his limitations. "No, I can't!" the boy insisted. "Yes, you can," Stovall replied. "No, I can't!" The verbal battle went on.
Meanwhile, Stovall fought his own limitations. Because of his deteriorating vision, he decided he had to quit his college courses. On his way to withdraw from college, he decided to resign his volunteer position as well. "It's just too tough," he explained. "I can't do it." "Yes, you can!" said a little voice beside him. It was the four-year-old who refused to tie his shoes. "No, I can't!" said Stovall with conviction. "Yes, you can!"
Stovall realized if he didn't continue the child would give up, too. So, Stovall stayed in school and graduated three-and-a-half years later. The same week he graduated, his little friend tied his shoes and climbed a flight of stairs.
Philippians 4:13 says, “I
can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Paul knew that the Lord can make the
impossible possible. In our weakness,
the Lord is our strength. As Paul said
to
This morning, I talked to one of our precious senior ladies
who has gone through some very difficult times
recently. She said something to me this
morning I have heard her says numerous times across this last month. She said,
“I could have never done this or made it through without His strength.” She is living out the truth of this
passage. Are you living out the truth of
this passage? “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”