In Our Weaknesses

by youth pastor Christina Fischer

Each of these devotional blogs entries is meant to be read on your own or if you have family or friends you live with, to be read together aloud. A suggestion is to do this after you have dinner around the table together. At the conclusion, please spend time in personal reflection or in sharing with one another your answers to the questions at the end. Be sure to conclude with prayer.

Read Romans 51-11

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

For the past couple of weeks, my husband and I have been taking daily walks after breakfast so we can get some much needed exercise and spend some time talking just the two of us. It has been a great way to reconnect during these trying times. After breakfast this morning, he had some things he needed to do for unemployment, so I was on my own and figured we weren’t going to walk today. I decided to unload the exercise bike in my parent’s basement and spend some time exercising that way. After a 45 minute bike ride, I sat on the couch to relax for a bit. Right as I sat down, Shane came out of our room and asked if I was ready to walk. I was tempted to decline because of the bike ride, but found myself saying “Sure!” so we didn’t break our walking streak.

After our 30 minute walk, my mom walked in and gave us a long list of outdoor chores that needed started right away and I was tempted to go to the basement and rest for a bit. (Remember Exodus 20:12) Not wanting to waste the beautiful day, I gathered the hubby and kids then we got to work. We cleaned up the yard of leaves, dog waste, and weeds, then emptied the shed and set up lawn furniture, and even burned leaves. It was a full day of work! Fast forward to after dinner when I discovered that all the activity was a bit of an overdoing for me – my back and legs were protesting – LOUDLY! (I sit here even now aching and sore all over.) The weakness of my legs and back are making it hard to walk, climb stairs, or do any normal activity this evening. As I remembered the devotional that was due, I was tempted to put it off until tomorrow (the day you should be reading it) or even put it off completely. I feel so weak, not just physically, but mentally as well! The only thing I can think about is how I am not strong enough or able-bodied enough to do the things that need done.

While my own lesson today was more about the results of overdoing it and the subsequent temptation to put off what needed to be done, the verse above is talking more about Jesus understanding our weaknesses in regards to temptations. This verse is a great reminder that we need to depend upon our Savior to help us when we are tempted so we can find strength and mercy in Him. None of us are strong enough to withstand the daily temptations of sin without His Spirit working within us.

A song that I heard again recently reminded me of this very thing. The fact that we are not strong enough to get through this life without His help and guidance. “Strong Enough” by Matthew West reminds us that God is our strength and we can trust Him to carry us through every situation we face in this lifetime. Whether we are dealing with health issues, family issues, or even the stress of social distancing, we can trust that we can approach the Throne of God with confidence to share with Him our weaknesses and then depend on Him to give us strength to endure it.

Praise God for His faithfulness!

Song Link: Strong Enough – Matthew West

Reflect with someone else or on your own:

Have you ever overdone it and been tempted to not do things you know you should? If so, how did that affect you or those around you?
Describe a situation where God’s strength helped you to achieve a positive outcome.
How easy is it for you to take your weaknesses and give them to God? Does knowing His promise in the verse above make that easier?