A few weeks ago I came down with a flu bug that’s been affecting many people in Barrouallie. After taking a full dose of meds for the first day, and a half dose for the second day, I was starting to feel better.
I was excited about getting back into things on day three……
And then I woke up feeling as if I’d been run over by a truck!
As is often the case, I ended up taking a step backwards physically. Was able to minister in the morning (went to prison ministry) but had a constant brain fog and exhaustion. Thankfully after a long nights sleep I had energy on day four, but the third day was still frustrating.
The morning of day three I ended up walking my dog over an hour and a half later than usual after sleeping in. Walking up the road feeling awful my attitude was admittedly not too great.
Then I saw the rainbow.
Rainbows here in Saint Vincent are always spectacular for some reason. I believe it has something to do with our being closer to the equator. Whatever the reason, God allowed me to see a gorgeous rainbow coming down to the sea that morning. This didn’t change the fact that I felt awful, but it did give grace and strength in my weakness.
God’s grace in weakness usually doesn’t remove our pain or suffering. Instead it comes alongside us in that suffering reminding us that He is right there. The presence of God in those moments allows us to plod along serving even though we don’t feel like it.
By God’s Grace, though I felt terrible that day, I was still able to minister
- By delivering Bibles and glucose test strips to prisoners
- By going through two Bible studies
- By counseling a friend
- By leading children through reading help groups
- and by delivering medication to a church member who suffered from the same flu
I wasn’t ministering at 100%
but I was still ministering!!
The Lord reminded me through that day often weakness can be used as an excuse for not doing His work. The truth is we can serve the Lord in great weakness. And in fact, He often gets greater glory when we serve in weakness, because it shows commitment to Him!
Sometimes the presence of God removes weakness so we can serve……
but most of the time it is serving in spite of our weakness
Johnhwilburn.org 