12/13/2022
It finally happened. After two years and nine months of NOT getting COVID, my body capitulated and became a hospitable host to COVID-19, where it became an unwelcomed guest for about four days.
I don’t think this is what Jesus had in mind when He said, “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35, ESV).
As others around me were smitten with the bug, I held fast for the longest time, and I thought perhaps the Lord had orchestrated my body in such a way that I was immune to the weakness of this pesky pandemic. But now I am reminded that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, ESV).
Weakness is an attribute I graciously accept in others but vigorously reject in myself. I abhor my personal weakness, because it conjures up emotions of frailty, dependence, failure, and ineptness. None of those represents characteristics I desire for inclusion on my resume.
Although I don’t like it, I continue to learn valuable lessons in those seasons of physical fatigue, emotional depletion, and spiritual malaise. I learn that pride is itself a weakness and a frailty of the worst kind. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, ESV).
Pride and self-righteousness are garlands of rose petals that at first appear robust and beautiful only to quickly whither and crumble away. Only in weakness do we discover the fullest expression of God’s strength. As Paul wrote, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10, ESV).
Though we don’t long for illness, in those moments of our inability to care for ourselves, we receive the love and care of others. We are not self-sufficient, but we find our sufficiency in the strength of Christ and the compassion of others. We are not independent, nor are we co-dependent, but we are inter-dependent as our lives integrate into the oneness of the Body of Christ.
Consider how God chose to enter our human arena through the weakest form of humanity—a Baby, who was completely dependent on a mother to nurse him and an earthly father to protect Him. Consider our High Priest who is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses, who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, ESV). And “because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18, ESV).
In our fallen and broken world, one thing is certain. We all get sick, and we will all face death—the ultimate form of human weakness. But Jesus took on our weakness, sin, and even death as He hung on the cross and died, “that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24, ESV). Thank You, Lord, that in our weakness, we can discover Your strength. Amen.
