Sunday 21 May 2017

'Imperfection'

‘Imperfection’
 
 
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
 
Are you aware that the GOD who created you, knows exactly what your weaknesses are? He has placed them right there where only He and you can 'find them'. However, He still wants you to hand them over to Him, so that His work on them can begin. Nonetheless, He does not stop using you while He is fixing you but continues to use you for His Kingdom!
 
Now, let me tell you about my ‘Red shoe experience’.
 
I LOVE Red. Therefore, it was to be expected that I would get myself a ‘working pair’ of beautiful red shoes! Even if it came with a few ‘issues’, ‘we’ managed to get over them by the grace of GOD!
 
Now, one day after a Boda boda (motorcycle) ride, I was disappointed to note that one of the shoes (the shoe on the right hand side) had a white string-like mark at the back of the heel! A nail had tightened its grip on the heel of my red shoe, somewhere during my journey on the Boda boda - I was crushed, could not get rid of it because it was fairly new! Therefore, I had no choice but to 'forget about it'…to forget that it existed! Thank GOD, it was at the back, and that only those who walked behind me could see it. Those who were headed in my direction, and those who walked alongside me, were oblivious to it!
 
The mark was another of many lessons, in humility, that GOD was teaching me. Seeing that I had no money to buy myself another pair, I was forced to ‘live with it’ as ‘marred’ as it was! Interestingly, one of the reasons that I forgot about it was because I chose to IGNORE IT! Similarly, we should choose to IGNORE our weaknesses.
 
We should also be aware that weaknesses teach us to be humble; knowing that we are so gifted, yet with something that makes us somewhat imperfect! In fact, just like Paul’s 'thorn in the flesh', I happen to believe that GOD allows some of these weaknesses to be a small part of our lives, in order to humble us. You see, sometimes, we consider ourselves too anointed to have any weaknesses and that is when pride sets in.
 
This ‘red shoe situation’ taught me that we can live with our weaknesses, as well as those of other people, while GOD fixes us and them. It is sad that we often wear our weaknesses on our ‘faces’ instead of on the back of our heels! We forget that they are weaknesses and that only those who walk behind us can see! We should front our strengths where all can see them while we trust GOD to take away our weaknesses that happen to be on the BACK OF OUR HEELS.
 
Interestingly, those weaknesses that we are most aware of, are not noticed by those who walk beside us but those behind us if they do notice them at all!
  
Also, we must look for the strengths of those with whom we relate, or besides whom we walk, instead of looking for their weaknesses. Interestingly, people’s strengths are more visible than their weaknesses. Nonetheless, we tend to intentionally ‘walk behind them’, focus on the ‘white string-like mark’ and magnify it!
 
It would be nice to note that, just as I could not dispose of the pair of shoes because of the white mark, GOD does not dispose of us because of our weaknesses. He works with us concerning them. All that He requires of us, is to commit them to Him. As He works on them, He expects us to wear them at the back of the heel of our favourite shoes, where we cannot see them. He expects us to ‘forget’ about them, ‘front our strengths’, and trust that He is working on the weaknesses.
 
Interestingly, the white mark was not a hindrance to my wearing the pair again – I still looked good in my red pair of shoes and it did not subtract from the effectiveness of the red shoes! Similarly, your weaknesses do not stop GOD from using you. What GOD wants you to do, however, is to hand them over to Him and focus on living right, doing right, and living a holy life. As you turn your back on the weaknesses, and focus on GOD, you will be more effective and humble knowing that you are also human enough to have them. It will also be evident to you (and to everyone else) that in your weaknesses, His strength is made perfect and that even if they are still there, the grace of GOD is sufficient! He will give you enough strength not to succumb to them.
 
Still, when we are aware of our weaknesses, commit them to GOD, and focus on our strengths, we become less aware of the weaknesses of those around us, commit them to GOD, and focus on their strengths as well! 
 
However, it is unfortunate that our weaknesses blind us to the fact that GOD can still use us. In fact it is sad that, sometimes, we become arrogant and justify ourselves regarding them instead of acknowledging them and allowing GOD to change us.
 
Therefore, today, let us acknowledge our weaknesses and hand them to GOD. Let us wear them on our heels instead of on our faces and let us move on. Let us be reminded that they are so insignificant to GOD that He can use despite of them. Let us also be reminded that to those who walk beside us and to those who approach us, they are not noticed but to those walk behind us they may be noticed if they are keen enough to notice them.
 
Allow me to let you know that since my favourite pair of working shoes had that little ‘accident’, no one has ever mentioned the white like path on my heel! This means that they either do not notice it or have chosen to ignore it as I have!
 
Therefore, let us be safe in the knowledge that we have handed them to GOD and that He is working on them while we bask in our strengths!  
 
Prayer
 
Dear GOD, I know that I have been marred – I have certain weaknesses that I now hand to you. I turn my back on them and my face to you, trusting that you will take them away. Given that I am also not perfect, I choose to ignore the weaknesses of those with whom I relate on a daily basis. I hand them over to you so that you can sort them out. In the meantime, let me continue serving you, with flaws, as if I do not have any! In Jesus’ name, I have prayed, amen.