My Times Are in Your Hands

In my list of the top ten most influential passages for my life I would have to put Psalm 31:14-15, but before we look at what it says, let me tell you the context of it. If you go back about five verses you find David felt about as troubled as a man can feel.

Words like anguish and groaning are there, as are ideas like weakness, sorrow and distress. He pretty much sums it all up by saying he feels like a piece of shattered pottery. We would not be surprised to hear him say he is ready to give up, but instead come these words:

Through Weakness

I am taking a few weeks to give you eleven passages of Scripture that I believe have had the greatest impact on my life. We have talked about number 11 and number 10 and that brings us to number 9, and I cannot count the times this one has kept me going. It is 2 Cor. 12:9:

    But he said to me, "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.

Some of us seem to be more in touch with our strengths and others of us are more in touch with our weaknesses. Most of my life I have been in the latter category. Just naturally wired this way, I then developed a chronic disease that can make even the most buoyant and self-confident fellow feel amazingly weak. I honestly believe that had it not been for this passage I likely would have lived a life characterized by doubting, withdrawing, pulling back and giving up.

Again and again I have been confronted with various feelings of weakness—that gut level emotion that says, “I just don’t think you have what it takes.” But if there is a reason that I am not known as one who retreats from the battle, it has to be found in the promise and the spirit of this verse.

I claimed this promise when walking into college dorms to lead Bible studies; when traveling across the country to speak or to take on the task of putting together a book.  But I also have clung to it when seeking to lead my family and be the husband and dad I did not seem to have the strength to be. In my flesh I prefer for God to work through my strengths, don’t you? But one of the greatest miracles is that he works through weakness.

Grace to the Humble

For Scripture number 10 (and these are not in any order of importance), I have 1 Peter 5:5:

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 

Thirteen years ago, I wrote about this text in The Prideful Soul’s Guide to Humility, and I still have deep conviction about what I said.

Passage after passage in the Scriptures make it clear that humility is the way to God’s heart. The proud find the door closed to his inner sanctum, but those who demonstrate humility are welcomed there again and again. By some measures of performance the former group may outshine the latter, but never mind. God does not receive us on the basis of performance. He receives us on the basis of heart, and no quality of heart is more important to him than humility.

In Grace I Stand

I am sure you have been counting and so probably know that this Mind Change Moment number 190. :) To get us to an even 200, I will use the next eleven Mondays to share with you eleven passages that seem to have most impacted my life. Once we reach that milestone, we will be stopping, at least for a while. DPI will be rerunning previous weeks for those of you want to continue to receive them.

So this week we start with passage number 11 and it comes from Romans 5:1-2:

Of Legs and Life

It will not surprise you that I watched some football on New Year’s Day. After all I live in North America. I also enjoyed black-eyed peas and cornbread with family and friends and played a fun game of “Catch Phrase.” But football was the main thing on the schedule. I only watched one game from beginning to end (Roll Tide), but I saw some of all the others.