Power Made Perfect

"This again, Lord?”

Seven years ago I sat in a Walmart parking lot frustrated for the thousandth time with this thorn that represented a never ending struggle and season of life I wanted to change but couldn’t.

“Why do I keep dealing with this over and over and over? I want victory over this in my life! I’m so tired of fighting!” I felt like Paul as he pleaded for the Lord to remove his thorn.
But Holy Spirit spoke so clearly to me on that day, “You’re fighting and that means you are ALIVE! Alive in Christ. Dead people don’t fight. Dead fish go with the current. Fish that are alive swim against the current.”

There’s this phenomena in nature called the salmon run. It’s an annual migration of salmon from the ocean (hundreds or thousands of miles!) upstream against strong currents, rapids, waterfalls, predators, and hydroelectric dams, back to their birth place to spawn the next generation of salmon. This is their only mission and then they die from exhaustion.

I was reminded that the fight against sin never grows old nor does it necessarily get easier, but God is always with me. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV

The reason I have chosen this way of following Jesus, this choice to sacrifice, fight, and bear my cross, is not for prosperity or a life of ease, but for peace and eternal life with our heavenly Father.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24, NIV

Peace doesn’t mean a pain and struggle-free life. It means knowing that in the midst of and after all of this we will indeed hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”