Weakness and Power

This morning I have been reading through the Psalms 80 through 86. They are such beautiful prayers and filled with some of my favorite verses. I am grabbed by Psalm 86 this morning though, and have been spending extra time just thinking about this verse and praying it for myself. This psalm is a feast for my soul.

Psalm 86:1-7, 10-12 NIV
[1] "Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. [2] Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; [3] have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. [4] Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. [5] You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. [6] Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. [7] When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me."

[10] For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. [11] Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. [12] I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever."

As I am looking at these verses, I am conscious of the relational transactions that are talked about in each line. David prays something, asks the Lord for something and the Lord responds, or David asks Him to respond as He always has responded. This Psalm comes out of David's knowledge of how God has interacted with him in the past. He clearly has a rich history of interacting with God, and has learned what God is like.

This is encouraging to me, in that even in the midst of his rich history with God, David still fears, struggles, needs help, and is distressed. I guess I see his unashamed human condition, and in seeing that I am not so worried that I am often in the same condition. I think of how often I have been afraid to reveal my own internal struggles, thinking that somehow that means I have lost my faith, or don't believe correctly. I am grateful for the humanity expressed here. I am also reminded of Paul's 2nd letter to the Church at Corinth:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV
[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. [10] 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."

Clearly, there is a place in our struggles and weakness where we discover more about God and His faithfulness and goodness. In that place, God's 'power is made perfect' in our weakness. I haven't reached Paul's level of delighting in my weakness or hardships, but I am starting to discover that rather than hide these things, if I turn to the Lord in them, He will be faithful and answer me, and Christ's power will rest on me! In this place, I can echo David's song (Psalm 86:10-12 NIV) "For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. [11] Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. [12] I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever!"