"What It Means To Me" by David Jeremiah

Did you hear about the professor who invented a complicated but finely-tuned machine in his garage? The contraption was years in the making. Finally one day an inquisitive neighbor persuaded the inventor to let him peek at it. There it was—an enormous apparatus with gears and belts and flywheels and electronic components with their flashing lights and digital readouts. 

With a push of a button, the machine hummed into motion with seamless precision, all the moving parts operating together like a miniature galaxy. The neighbor was hypnotized by the synchronization of the parts, then he asked, “But what does it do?”

“What do you mean?” asked the professor.

“I mean, what does it do? What is it good for?”

“Oh,” said the scholar, “it doesn’t really do anything, but look how wonderfully it works.”

That’s a picture of much of today’s thinking. Scholars have elaborate theories, and we all have lots of opinions, but sometimes we never get around to application. We can accumulate information, explain ideas, and discuss data, but left unanswered is the question—so what?

"If I Were The Devil" by Paul Harvey

If I were the Devil

If I were the Prince of Darkness

I'd want to engulf the

Whole world in darkness

And I’d have a third of it's real estate

And four-fifths of it's population

But I wouldn't be happy until I had seized

The ripest apple on the tree – thee

The Impact Of Pride

The longer that I linger on this planet, the more I discover the lack of true perspective that I have about my life. In 1974, Bravo, a software program, was one of the first programs to incorporate the WYSIWYG technology, or as it is better known, What You See Is What You Get. This was a revolutionary concept at the time because before this software was released, printing was a lot like trying to hit a target in the dark. What your eyes perceived on your computer screen was generally not what happened when you tried to print your work. 

A lot like what are realities are like without the wisdom of Christ. 

"We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever." - (2 Corinthians 4:18 | NCV)

" . . . Ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory - to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him - endless energy, boundless strength!" - (Ephesians 1:17-19)

To see how this looks let's examine a king who lived around 700 BC. (2nd Chronicles 26 and 2nd Kings 15: 1-7)

Investing In Our Weaknesses

In a lot of ways, dependence upon God during good times is rarely needed, at least from our perspective during that time. But as C.S. Lewis put it, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

We just celebrated Easter last Sunday and if there is a greater story of strength arising from weakness, I have yet to hear it. Jesus had been tortured, and then publicly executed, and His disciples were beyond despondent. 

It was officially the Act II for the church as everything that had been worked for, sacrificed for, and invested in Jesus ministry appeared to be destroyed. It was at this moment, this precise divine appointment, that God chose to demonstrate how the death of His Son become the greatest gift our world has ever known. 

Weakness. Powerless. Hopeless. We have or will experience these seasons in our lives, where darkness threatens to overwhelm us in our despondence and suffering takes up residence in our hearts. And just like that moment over two thousand years ago we are faced with a choice, how are we to respond during times of suffering and pain?

Here is a crazy thought, "What if those times of trouble could also be meant as a time of blessing?"

In fact, here is an even crazier thought, “How are we supposed to invest these gifts (God's Words, not mine) of our pain, suffering and weakness, thus allowing God to accomplish what we could never dream possible?"

On its surface this question seems riddled with paradox, people only invest in assets to increase their value, they try to eliminate or minimize or even cover up liabilities. And most of us would consider our weaknesses as liabilities — deficiencies to minimize or cover up. 

But, if you'll give me just a moment to explain, What if God, in his providence, gives us our weaknesses just as he gives us our strengths? Because in God’s economy, the return on investment He most values is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). And in God's eyes, weaknesses are assets — we can even call them talents — to be stewarded, and to be invested into Kingdom work. A even more difficult truth is that the most valuable asset God has given you and me perhaps is not a strength, but a weakness.