“…and He said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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.”

This week a dear sister went home. Aida Luz Capellan finished a fulfilled life. Her strength in her mortal body waned and ebbed through years of treatment for cancer, heart failure, side-effects, infirmities; pain. Watching her labor against the decay of her body week by week revealed the truth of our biological frailty. Watching her labor in the Spirit revealed the truth of the Lord’s redemptive power. There’s something unnerving about watching someone die. So much of what we see is physical, or just temporal. It’s hard to see what such weakness is producing, and our hope is in turning back sickness and death. Looking at pictures of Aida as a young woman - so robust, so enthused of life; such physical beauty - how could we hope for anything but the redemption and transformation of that life essence restored and glorified in her eternal life. Rarely do we look at a picture of a young person and think how they will look when they are old and gray. No, we look at pictures of the elderly and try to percieve how they looked when they were young. We love tidy progressions and histories that comply with time, and we fail to see that for the believer growing weak and old results not in finality, but in newness! We abhor weakness in ouselves - we desire strength, and confidence, and acomplishment; we shun weakness in others. Very few of us embrace that weakness. That is why death is so perplexing, and fearful: it is our final weakness. Ever wonder why so many turn to God on their deathbed? Faith in the power of Christ is made all-the-more-so crucial in the moments before death, and in our days of life in this sphere (as a preparation for that moment). And what glory has faith worked in Aida’s body through patient suffering and perseverance to reach that ultimate goal, to sleep in the arms of the Lord and wake in His presence beholding His face! Oh Lord, teach me to reckon to my utter weakness, my hopeless state apart from you, and succor to your power in the chastisement of my fearful flesh. For when I am weak and have abandoned the power of my self, then I am strong.
As you are praying and ministering to brothers and sisters in their weaknesses and needs, let’s first give thanks always for trials and circumstances that reveal true character. Outwardly they may be a picture of health and physical strength, and we may overlook their weakness - relying on the counterfeit of action or intellect. Ask and wait for more of the power of the Holy Spirit to replace any human strength, or wisdom. A young man wavered as he contemplated Christ recently, he was fearful of his weakness being stronger than his will and resoucefulness; he hadn’t yet accepted the gift of salvation. When offered the picture of God’s strength as greater and far exceeding his own weakness, he couldn’t receive it, neither did he fear God. Not so with the redeemed! Stop just one moment and contemplate your weakest and most incapable attribute or sin. Now, compare that with God’s unlimited power and love. No contest.