I delight in being weak.

Tonight, Leslie and I took a 40 minute drive up to Washougal, Washington to share the story of how H2O got started, what it is, and what teens in general can do in service to God. One of the points we closed with, to encourage the students as they seek out what God wants them to do, is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

"'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's
power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am
strong."

I've heard that passage so many times. Leslie and I have shared it with many different groups of teenagers, and rightfully so--it's an encouraging and powerful promise. But each time I go to tell other people about it, God reminds me that it still applies to me. I haven't somehow become independent, self-sufficient. I haven't reached a point where I am good to go on my own. I love how Abraham Lincoln said it, "Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!" But God is quick to remind me and bring circumstances my way to keep me from ever being able to rely on the performance I can give.

Even down to the little details:
Leslie and I forgot to bring H2O's promo video on a thumbdrive. fail. God worked it out anyway, so that the sound guys could get it to work off youtube.
Leslie and I got to the church on time without getting lost (which was pretty much a first for us...the on time part and the not getting lost part). But in case we were about to think that we could handle navigating our way around Washington, we got a little lost on the way home.
I lost my voice over the weekend, forcing me to trust that God would heal it enough by Wednesday to enable me to speak to this group.

God's grace is always sufficient. He is most glorified, His power is most grandly displayed, when we are failures, when we make mistakes, when we can't give a flawless performance. And that's a promise that I can delight in. For when I am weak, then I am strong.