Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

• Isaiah 43:1

“The evil, the sinful, the common are overpowering in us, and we remain under their spell as long as we live. And we would despair of the good, of the holy, of ourselves, and of God, if we had not been given the word: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor. 12:9). It is clear, therefore, that for us religion is not the fulfillment of what the world lacks or the provider of good fortune on earth. No, with religion, misfortune unrest, and deprivation have become powerful in the world. ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ What is grace? It is something not seen, something we don’t get to feel directly. On the contrary, it is something entirely improbable and incredible, according to which we judge what we experience here. It speaks of an event beyond all worlds and wants to draw us away from our own world to another. A dark abyss opens up, and a voice commands: Jump across. I will catch you and hold you fast. I am stretching out my hand. Now bet your life on it, and rely on me and on nothing else. My grace is sufficient for you. I am love. ‘I have called you by name, you are mine’ (Isa. 43:1).”

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You (devotion for June 3, devotions compiled from his writings)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is not condemning religion.  He is not saying that religion is the cause of unrest and deprivation.  But those things are among us while religion watched.  Being more religious is not the answer.  Accepting God’s Grace and showing grace to others goes beyond what religion can do.  For when we are weak, then God uses us.

When I have felt God use His power within me, I rarely knew what was happening.  It was even more rare to feel the result, but I always had the feeling of total helplessness.

I am the Eagle Scout turned into an Army officer turned into an elder of the church and Sunday school teacher.  I need to know what is going on.  I can get sick at my stomach when I feel totally helpless, but I also know that is when God works the most marvelous wonders.

Why is that the case?  When we feel helpless, God takes over.  If we have that one morsel of “I can do this” in our functioning brain, we will try to “help.”

Think of it this way.  We are flawed human beings, and we think we can help almighty God who is perfect.  Just leaving a fingerprint makes the result less than perfect.  It’s the old argument about a little yeast blends throughout the dough.  In nuclear terms, radiation above background means the whole thing is contaminated unless you can isolate it to one finite spot.  Think of what they do at plastic recycle centers.  A small amount of contamination causes them to dump the entire load into a landfill somewhere.

Maybe I overdid the contamination analogies, but when we let God take over, probably because we find ourselves in over our head, wonderful things can happen.  Please, stay out of the way.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.