His Strength is Perfect

Hello Everyone!

I feel like I should be saying "Hello" because I've been gone for so long. Now that the school year is in full swing, I have been very busy…but this evening, I told myself that I simply MUST post something today. Actually, I always have ideas popping into my head at random times and I write them all down, but somehow, I just don't get around to it. It's on my to do list. :)

Today, I just want to share a simple story with you. It's not anything big or grandeur, but it was deep for me. 

Last month, I found out that I was scheduled to preach at my church. At first, I was a little bit surprised because they gave me only 2 week's notice and it would be right in the middle of the most hectic time for university students (did I hear you say, midterms?). My initial reaction was to switch with someone else and preach at a later time, however, I resolved that if God asked me to do it, I should. 

From the day I was told that I would be preaching, I prayed every day, asking God to tell me what He wanted me to speak about. Day after day went by and I was blank. I had great devotions in the morning, but each topic that came up, I knew that wasn't what God wanted me to talk about. 1 week went by, I still didn't have an idea, much less a draft. Then, at the last minute, God showed me exactly what to speak about…His love. 

Let's start with some background. Recently, I've been studying a lot about Jesus' death on the cross and my heart has been melted as I begin to see a tiny glimpse of how much God loves us. How much He gave up, for a poor, wretched soul like mine. The phrase "Jesus loves you" has become rampant among Christians. It's almost like a mantra we chant thinking that it will win people to Christ. I've been hearing it ever since I was a small child, but I didn't really understand the depth of it until now. On a side note, if you want to see a clearer picture of how much Christ loves us, I highly recommend a book called, "The Desire of Ages", here is a link so you can read it for free online: http://www.whiteestate.org/books/da/da.asp (I specifically recommend Chapter 74-87). Read it parallel to the Bible. It changed my life. When I stop and meditate on how the King of Kings gave up everything, just so that sinful mankind or more specifically, so that sinful, rotten, Nina can be reunited with Christ, can be forgiven of her sins, can be given pure joy and happiness. I sit and I wonder, what kind of love is that? It is so much deeper than any love I could ever give, so much purer than anything I have ever known. 

However, when God told me to preach about His love, I was very hesitant. I didn't want to do it because I felt like it would be impossible to describe God's love and actually have people see the depth of it. I felt that if I stood at the pulpit and talked about it, I wouldn't pay it any justice, so why talk about it at all? His love is so deep, it's beyond our comprehension; my biggest fear was  that people wouldn't see the depth of it. So, here I was, in the middle of the week, I finally had a topic, but no inspiration as to how I should go about doing it. So, I continued praying. On Friday, I went to the library and devoted my day to studying the Bible and writing my sermon, then I went home. As I lay in bed, I prayed to God. I saw myself, sin-stained and a broken vessel. What could God do through me? I felt wholly inadequate to speak, moreover, I knew I was completely unworthy to stand before His people. The nagging thought was ever before me, I was so worried that people wouldn't understand what I'm saying or that they wouldn't see the unsearchable depth of His love. With that thought in mind, I fell asleep. 

Every morning, when I wake up, I take out my phone and check my email (obsessive habit, I know). I'm signed up for this "verse of the day" email list from Biblegateway. I opened it up to see what it would say and as soon as I read it, I had a huge smile on my face. It was from Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

In the midst of all my doubts, all my fears, all my deficiencies, God had a message for me. He told me that while I don't have the words or the eloquence or the wisdom to describe His love, His Word is enough, that's all it takes. The Bible is a sword, moving with power, it pierces the soul in a way that we could never match. As I read the passage, I was amazed once again that God knew exactly what to do to comfort me. He had arranged it so that the verse that I needed to read the most would be sent to me at the time that I needed it most. Isn't our God good? He is amazing! I got up and went with full assurance that God was with me and that HE would be the one speaking, not me. I experienced perfect peace in my heart. 

In closing, I just want to remind you of one of my favourite verses in the Bible.

"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 12:9

When we are at our weakest point, that's when God is able to work in our hearts and through our lives. When we realize that we can't do it on our own, it forces us to surrender our all to Him. His strength is made perfect in weakness! What an amazing God!

-Nina

Picture story: When I read the verse that morning, I took a picture of it right away, knowing that I would want to share it on the blog later. So here it is!