Friday, April 16, 2010

TO POWER OR NOT TO POWER

The movement from power through strength to power through powerlessness is our call.

                                                                                                Henri Nouwen

No matter how much we consider this truth, we tend to first assume the opposite is what will work.  It won't.  The great secret of getting to work with God in His lush vineyard is to keep hammering away at the fact our call is gaining momentum when our calculation and organization dips in understanding.

I spent some time with one of my best friends ever yesterday in a St. Louis hospital.  He is dying of cancer unless God should reverse the trend.  We sat alone and cried like children over our deep friendship of 46 years.  We talked openly about the walk through death.  I left exhausted and privileged.  What a conversation...a rich moment with one so dear.

Our call is powerlessness.  Exhaustion would fit such a scheme.  Perplexity would, too.  Yet, there is something God has always told us in both Old and New Testaments; He will do the work if we will trust Him.  Ask fatherless Abram, dinky David, or troops director Gideon.  Their call was powerlessness. 

Don't give up on God.  I believe many of you get bumped, attacked, and injured.  The world of darkness beats upon you.  Insults are a vital part of our walk.  If not for the negatives we might begin to believe we run the schemes of the vineyard....not.

Hold on.  You are enough.  Your work is glorious....because your God is chomping at the bit to be called upon for action!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I really appreciate these thoughts on a day that I really needed to hear them. This view of power isn't terribly popular in today's world and is not very well accepted but is the way of Christ. Thanks for the encouragement.