Taking Pleasure in What?

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 (New King James Version)

I take pleasure in a lot of things. Spending time with special people, watching another person awaken to the truths of God, discovering new facets about my heavenly Father, reading emails that fill my heart with joy and my eyes with tears, listening to music that captures the essence of my spirit and my journey, experiencing the breaking of a stronghold, making spiritual progress, and being overwhelmed by God’s mercy, love, and grace, all bring me pleasure and great delight! But the hardships and heartbreaks of life (like the things Paul listed in today’s verse)? Pleasure in those? Prayed against, maybe. Avoided or delivered from, definitely. Unwanted, absolutely. But take pleasure in? Not without the help and revelation of God!

In and of themselves, these things cannot bring pleasure. But what Paul had learned and what each of us must learn is the richness of what can come of those things. For it is in the very center of difficulty that we turn to God. When we stand in our own strength and experience a comfortable day we tend to not see our need of God. But when life falls apart and our platform of security crumbles, we are left with no choice but to cry out to God for strength, comfort, and encouragement. It is in our loneliness that we most seek His company. It is in our deepest loss that we seek His comfort. It is in our sin and regret that we seek His forgiveness and restoration. It is in our weakness that we finally seek His strength.

Hardships and handicaps keep me in constant touch with my limitations and my need for God’s strength. Instead of cringing at them, God desires that I fully realize my limitations, weaknesses, and propensities to sin in order to drive me straight into His arms to receive His strength and power. What I lack is what God graciously makes available to me. THAT is what I can take pleasure in! It is in seeing where troubles, tragedies, and trials lead me that I can begin to take pleasure in them. I don’t have to wait until it is all over before I can dance in delight. I simply have to fix my eyes on the end of the story that I know is coming! No matter what life throws at me, I KNOW God will infuse me with the grace and strength to stand in it or walk through it. I am limited…..He is NOT!

Father, I choose to embrace all that You gift me with each day. That which causes me to run to You is what I treasure the most. With my tears come Your comfort. With my weaknesses come Your strength. With my losses come Your gains. Pleasure indeed!!!! Amen.

His Strength is Perfect - Steven Curtis Chapman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC_lld_vUCY

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.