Give Up or Go On?

Little Margie was having a difficult time learning to skate. It seemed as though the skates her father gave her far exceeded the strength and coordination of her legs and muscles. A neighbor watching her fall down and get up was amazed at her tenacity and determination. Finally he said to her, “Why don’t you give up?”

“Because,” she said with tears in her eyes, “my father didn’t give me these skates to give up with but to go on with.”

How like our Heavenly Father. He does not “give” things to us to cause us to fall down, but to help us “go” with Him and grow into the likeness of His Son, our Savior.

We speak often about Paul’s “affliction” - not ever knowing what it was or the problems it may have caused him personally. But we do know that he said, “So I am glad to boast about my weaknesses…for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The great lesson for us to learn from Paul is that if and when we are wiling to admit our weakness, God will fill us with His power and strength. There is always the temptation for us to try to “do it on our own.” It is the natural thing to do. But that is not how God created us. God wants us to depend on Him for everything.

Prayer:  Father, give us a willingness to recognize that in You, with You and through You, we can overcome any weakness that may defeat us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10