TRULY WOKE

 


The more woke (awake) I become, the more I see my blind-spots and the more dependent I become on my Savior. Consequently, my prayers have been reduced to this, “Lord, I do not know what to pray. I just want your will for my life”:

•    Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26–27)

Am I an overcomer? In a Biblical sense, Yes:

•    For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4–5; 4:4)

Overcoming is a matter of recognizing the lies of this world and resisting them in favor of trusting/believing in Jesus alone.

In other ways, I am not an overcomer. I am vulnerable to a broad assortment of fears, pains, and the very evident demise of my aging body and gladly admit that there are many problems and weaknesses that I haven’t been able to overcome. However, I have learned to whom to run to find comfort. He has promised to take care of us:

•    …“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:1–2)

Consequently, our Lord Jesus is our answer:

•    Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

How can we cast our anxieties on Him? By realizing that we are powerless against so many threats, and that He is our only hope! Does this sound pathetic or depressing? Perhaps for some, but our weaknesses and needs are an undeniable reality, but our Lord promises that He is sufficient:

•    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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)

I continue to learn this lesson, boast in my weaknesses, and encourage others to understand that our weaknesses are our strengths in the Lord.