By Dianna Hobbs
www.diannahobbs.com
Every time I’ve been in the hospital, my body wracked with pain, doctors have been confused about what to do. But even in my weakness, I knew how to call on the name of Jesus.
In the hospital bed, I prayed. Hooked up to an IV with all kinds of drugs being pumped into my veins to quiet the vicious and destructive storm in my body, I cried out to the Lord.
One night, months before specialists knew what to call the diseases that have tried to attach themselves to me, my blood pressure and heart rate skyrocketed.
My white blood cell count dropped. My bodily functions had essentially shut down. I was experiencing a medical crisis, a serious emergency and there was only one man who could fix it.
You know what His name is.
Jesus.
My nurse tried to make sure I was comfortable. The doctors did all they could, but I knew there was someone greater. I remember so vividly how I began to war in the spirit. Even though I was weak and could barely move a muscle, I whispered my earnest prayers.
As the saying goes, “He hears our faintest cries.”
It’s so true.
I began declaring the word. No one could really hear me because I couldn’t project my voice, but God heard my prayer. It was the kind of request that Psalm 102:1 perfectly describes: “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the LORD. Hear my prayer, LORD; let my cry for help come to you.”
That was me.
A few hours later, after my prayer session with the Lord, the nurse repeated my blood test and checked my vital signs, and passed the information along to my doctor.
My doctor came into my room where my husband was sitting by my side drifting in and out of sleep, and turned the lights on.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “But all your levels are normal. Everything regulated.”
I knew what happened.
GOD happened!
I connected with my power source and maintained my connection with Him throughout that storm. That’s what I do daily and it gets me through.
That night, He strengthened me in my weakest moment, which is something He reminded me of again today.
Let me tell you what happened.
I have a laptop that typically works perfectly, beyond the few glitches that any tech device suffers from occasionally.
All-in-all my inexpensive computer that I faithfully use to write all my devotions and store important things on, is everything I need it to be.
This week, however, I noticed that it began shutting down abruptly.
Huh? I thought the first time it happened.
The screen literally went black after it cut off unexpectedly. At first, I was baffled and wondered what went wrong.
I wanted to make sure the adapter was working okay. It seemed to be. The battery icon indicated that the cord was attached and giving power to the device. I was thinking, okay, so, it should be fine, especially because that adapter is fairly new and it seems to be working properly. So then, what is the problem?
Then, it hit me.
I had seen this happen before with a different computer. My husband Kenya had taken an older device to the shop before, when the same annoying thing was occurring. He quickly learned from the repairman that it was a pretty easy fix. We just needed to replace the battery.
Sure enough, this computer I’m typing on right now needs a new battery, too.
But while I wait for a new one to be shipped to my home, as long as I make sure the adapter cord, which is my laptop’s only source of power, doesn’t slip out and get disconnected, the computer will run and perform perfectly, despite the bum battery.
If it gets disconnected from the power source, however, instantly — I mean right away — it shuts down.
As I was thinking about this, God placed something in my spirit the way only He can and told me to share it on the blog. I got excited! I haven’t shared on this blog since last September and He strengthened me to do it today.
Can somebody put a praise on that with me?
Well anyway, God used this little ordeal to remind me that the same way my laptop’s battery is worn out, my own battery — strength, energy, health — right now is worn out.
I have been so weak, feeble, lethargic and about as strong as a wet noodle or a cloth rag doll.
Can you say weak?
Lord, have mercy.
My legs have failed me, my body has turned against me as my immune system attacks itself. I am susceptible to so many diseases, because my physical ailments have limited my ability to fight in the natural.
Oh, but I’ve got power in the spiritual — just as I had in that hospital room on my sick bed of affliction, when I felt miserable and helpless.
But I was never without hope.
No matter how hard it is, how depleted you feel, God is able to strengthen & carry you through. Stay connected!
I couldn’t and still can’t function on my own. Like my laptop with the worn-out battery, I shut down and am rendered useless in my current condition. That is, until I connect to my power source, who is the Lord.
His word says in the latter half of 2 Corinthians 12:10, “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
In verse 9 of this same chapter, the word of God says in the NLT translation, “Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
Isn’t that awesome?
Christ’s power works best in our weakness.
Wow.
That’s why we don’t have to grieve, fret, fear or be discouraged when hardship, sickness and adversity knocks on our door.
Don’t get me wrong. We don’t feel like clicking our heels together and dancing a jig when things go wrong. I know I don’t! It doesn’t feel good, particularly on days when life seems to be giving me the worst imaginable dose of pain, struggle and difficulty.
It can get ugly.
Nevertheless, we know that trouble doesn’t last, amen? But while it lingers, Christ’s power has this astonishing and incredible way of taking over and compensating for what you and I lack.
That’s good news for us today, especially if you, like me, are in a storm.
You may or may not be battling in your health. Your struggle could have something to do with a financial crisis. You might be out of a job and need God to open a door and every door seems to be closing. Your marriage could be in trouble and you don’t know what to do to save it. You may be grieving the loss of a loved one and feel like you don’t know how to live on and pick up the pieces.
Or perhaps you don’t know how to get out of a volatile or toxic relationship. Maybe your children have grown rebellious and wayward, and are making bad choices. Your life could feel like it’s in disarray. Your emotions may be all over the place and you can’t seem to get a handle on things.
Someone you love could have betrayed you. Depression and discouragement may be trying to overtake you and you don’t know how to fight back.
Whatever it is that has drained your battery, know that in your weakness you don’t have to handle it all on your own. God is there.
I know this to be true.
I have stayed connected in the midst of the trial and you must do the same. The same God who is sustaining me through one of the most difficult phases of my life’s journey to date, is the same God who sustains you.
Don’t you love Him?
I do. He’s so good.
I adore and praise Him in the middle of my trial for how His grace and mercy carries us through, as long as we stay connected to Him. And at the appointed time, according to His will, He will bring you and me out better, stronger and more equipped to fulfill His will.
So today, if you have grown weary, I feel led to stir two scriptures into your cup of inspiration.
The first one is Isaiah 41:10 NIV, which says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
The second one is, John 15:5 NIV, which says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, remember that the Lord is with you, carrying you through, as long as you remain connected to Jesus Christ, the vine. He is your source of everything; it is His strength that is perfected in your weakest moment.
When you, like me, find yourself in the fiery furnace of affliction, be encouraged by the testimony of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Remember when they were bound and thrown into a blazing hot furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar? Well, when he went to check on them, not only were they not consumed by the fire, but the king cried out in amazement in Daniel 3:25, “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
God has the power to loose us, even in the midst of the fire. We can have liberty, freedom, joy and peace in the struggle, the heartache, the sickness, the disappointment.
That’s what I have.
You know why?
Because a “fourth man” whose name is Jesus, is in the fiery furnace with me and you. He is your power source and mine. That’s how we know everything will be alright, as we stay connected to Him through the trial.
Leave a Comment