My family and I have been sick for the past two weeks. It started with the baby, then passed to me and then to the other kids. Somehow, my husband has stayed disease-free (thank goodness). The baby is now healthy, the other daughter is in the thick of a nasty cough, and somehow I am still in a long slow recovery from fever and sore throat. Why has my weakness lasted the longest out of everyone? I am sure ready to be healthy and at full capacity again.
In the midst of my sickness, I could feel my normal mental sharpness being clouded. I was not able to be as quick-witted or astute as I am accustomed to. Today as I am feeling a little better but still left with a lingering cough and low energy, I am sick of being sick! I am ready to have my energy back and be strong! But the Lord is teaching me in the midst of my weakness.
But God said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
-2 Corinthians 12:9
In my weak days, God is teaching me to take the strength that He gives day by day and use it. I want to be full and overflowing to run ahead, but He is teaching me to look for my daily bread that comes from Him. God is giving me manna for each day. When God gave manna as food for Israel in the wilderness, He warned them not to attempt to collect more than they needed for the day. Some did not listen to His warning and found the surplus they had collected was spoiled and rotten the next morning. God has a purpose in providing enough strength for today. His exceeding power shows through my weakness. My weakness keeps me close to Him. My weakness allows me to depend on God for daily manna.
The joy of the Lord is your strength. -Nehemiah 8:10
I want to be strong in my own right. God, in His mercy, takes away the idol of self sufficiency. He is showing me that the joy of the Lord is my strength. My strength when I am sick and weak is Him. I pray that as God returns me to health, that He would allow me to remember that in my good days, my strength continues to be from Him.
