Being a human is not easy. My husband and I have been trying to lose weight. It is a real struggle. We will do well, eating properly for a few days, but then some frustration or temptation overcomes us and we indulge in some delicacy that we later regret. We often feel like food is a foe that has a powerful grip on us. Oddly, the same thing happens in our spiritual being too. We try to pray and read our Bible and live for the Lord, but then, in a time of frustration or temptation, we succumb to the power of sin’s influence and fall on our faces. In our own strength it seems impossible to live a life that pleases God all the time. But thank God we have a Savior who understands our weaknesses both physically and spiritually and can identify with us through these struggles. He doesn’t leave us to figure things out on our own; there is no way we could overcome the power of sin without His help.
“So now Jesus and the ones He makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters…Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.” (Hebrews 2:11,14-15 NLT)
Precious child, you are a loved and dear member of God’s family. He is not ashamed to call you His brother or sister. He sees what you are going through and understands when you fall and feel like giving up. But you can’t give up! Just as He said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9,
“‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
The Lord knows you are weak, but He uses those weaknesses to supplement us with His power. When we are weak, His power fills in the gaps. When we are strong-willed, there is not much room for His power to work in us. We are actually operating to our fullest potential when our minimum is offset by His maximum. Because He came to us as a human, yet did not fail once to sin’s powerful pull, He was able to break the power of the devil over us. He sets us free from the condemnation of fear and failure.
Don’t put yourself down when you feel frustrated or tempted by food or by sin, but instead “take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when you are weak, then you are strong (because He becomes strong within you). (2 Corinthians 12:10) Walk in the strength of the Lord today!