Exhaustion ruled when I returned from a Katrina rebuild mission trip in 2006. My eyes were more on the things I perceived as failures than they were on God. Positive words or actions tend to diminish when weariness takes over. The only hope we have is to look to Holy Spirit for help.  Still, He is often forgotten in times of stress.

“Lord, turn my eyes back on You,” I cried. “This week has exposed so many of my weaknesses as well as my strengths. Help me to fall upon Your grace and not try to fix anything by my own efforts. Lead me back to the secret place with You.”

I waited in silence for His reply.

My grace is sufficient for you.  There is no shame in weakness.  Turn to Me and live.  My grace is sufficient to deliver you, but you will always be aware of weakness.  Apart from Me and My grace, you can do nothing of value.  It is in weakness when you more fully recognize that anything you’ve done in strength has its source in Me.

 Rest in Me.  Quit beating yourself up and rejoice in My grace to deliver you.  Rejoice in My love that is not fickle nor leaves you in times of weakness.  My heart is forever toward you.  Your strength from Me is made perfect in your recognition of weakness but dwell on Me and not on your weakness.

 Rejoice in Me with childlike abandon— “I slipped again Abba.  Thanks for catching me and teaching me.  Thanks for opening my eyes to the stumbling blocks of my soul.”  Make this your confession.  In Me you are strong.  Glory in your weakness and let My power be displayed in you.

2 Corinthians 12:9 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.

2 Corinthians 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord

When we fail to re-present Him in our lives, let’s run to Him in true confession and receive the help we need.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.