Imagine being pricked by a thorn from a rose bush. Think about the pain of a deeply embedded thorn that requires tenderness and skill to remove it.
This imagery reminds us of how complex and wounded we are, and our need to embrace our weakness and God’s grace for ourselves and others.
The World Hates Weakness
“Weakness” is an interesting word. Most cultures and histories look down upon weakness. I think understandably so, for most tasks, tests, competitions, etc., it is better to be strong rather than weak.
We as humans throughout history are good at emphasizing our strengths. That is why we enhance our resumes and during a eulogy, we accentuate the positive. It is easier for us to point out our good and strengths, over our not-so-good characteristics and weaknesses. So much so that often parents, teachers, and coaches teach us to even hate weakness, in ourselves and others!
God’s Children Boast of Weaknesses
In the Holy Bible, God’s words often point out how children of God need to think differently than the way of the world. To choose the narrow path, even though it is more difficult, as it leads to life and only a few will find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, the Apostle Paul excellently describes how God wants us to cultivate a new attitude towards our weakness. Paul said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ”
Not Let Thorns Define Us
Paul’s attitude regarding his major problems was to let the Holy Spirit use him despite his weakness and not let Satan win. Too many people, even Christians, let the thorns and problems of their lives define them.
We all need to cultivate a new attitude of letting God use us in our weakness and even delight in our weakness, insults, hardships, etc. All for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven and to experience God’s perfect power and grace!
God had to humble Paul and bring him to his knees. He needs to do the same for us as well.
Experiencing God’s Grace in Weakness
We all experience times when we feel drained and powerless. For years I tried to power through, using my own strength and wisdom.
Slowly and thankfully the Holy Spirit spoke to me. I realized I needed God. He encouraged me inwardly through His Spirit and outwardly through the helpfulness of my church, family and friends.
I had to let go of my independence and learn to trust God’s sufficiency in my weakness. God’s amazing grace and power are sufficient for me and even made perfect in my weakness! And by His grace, I am even learning to delight in the insults, hardships, and difficulties of life.
This is all for the sake of experiencing His perfect power and for the advancement of His kingdom from heaven to earth. And that is my sincere hope and prayer for CBCGB.
Steve Bowman is the Children’s Ministry pastor at CBCGB.
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” (Reference 1)
Seeing Again is Life-Changing
Are you blind? For those of us who can see, this may sound like an odd question. What do you think it is like to go from being completely blind to being able to see? Thanks to modern technology, we can see witnesses of people who were blind and then had surgery, or through the use of some technology are able to see again. Without experiencing it ourselves, we can only know so much, but we can imagine going from being completely blind to being able to see again would be a very emotional experience.
But what do you think it is like to go from being partially blind to being able to see clearly for the first time? Take for example, being color-blind and then being able to see color again. A few years ago technology has made this possible too, and it has become a popular trend to post videos of people who are color-blind wearing glasses that allow them to see color for the first time on YouTube and other social media. Have you seen these videos? What do you think people’s responses are?
If you go on YouTube and find the video, “EnChroma: “Tough Guy” Sees Full Color for the First Time” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ7AvvYsr54), you will find an older colorblind gentleman who describes himself as a tough guy. He assures his family and those watching that when he puts on the glasses to allow him to see color that he will not cry. However, as he actually wears the glasses for the first time, he nearly breaks down into tears. It is a moving and emotional moment.
Being able to see the beauty of color for the first time is an incredibly emotional experience- even for a “tough guy” who assures his viewers that he will not cry! It is a moving, life-altering experience to go from being color blind to being able to see the wonderful beauty of all the colors.
Missing the Colorful Beauty of God’s Creation
Are you blind? What if our spiritual eyes are in the same condition as the color-blind person, able to see in part, but significantly missing the colorful beauty of God’s created world and unaware of what we are actually missing?
The Bible says because of sin, each one of us is spiritually blind in this same sense- able to see in part, but not clearly: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
To be clear, spiritual blindness is in part how we see things generally, but also how we see spiritual things is more than simply sight. It is about how we perceive everything. Like the color-blind person unable to see all the vast colors of the world and everything around them, the spiritually blind person is unable to see the goodness of God at work in every aspect of life. The spiritually blind person has a tarnished and inaccurate perception of everything they see, including themselves.
All of Us Struggle with Spiritual Blindness
While Scripture primarily addresses spiritual blindness in relation to the unbeliever, it is also true that because of sin, Christians too struggle with some sense of spiritual blindness.
Author, counselor, and theologian Paul David Tripp says this about spiritual blindness: “One of the tragic effects of the Fall is personal blindness of heart-it is universal…sin is deceitful and fallen people are so naturally blind to issues of self.” (Reference 2)
He goes on, “The difference between physical and spiritual blindness is that the former is blatantly obvious while the latter often goes unnoticed. A physically blind person is immediately confronted with his condition. Often, a spiritually blind person not only fails to recognize his blindness, he is convinced that he has excellent vision. A fundamental part of being spiritually blind is that you are blind to your blindness.” (Reference 3)
Spiritual Blindness is Caused by Sins
Spiritual blindness is not morally neutral, but is largely due to our sin-we are not simply victims of Satan’s deceptiveness. Though the devil schemes against us to deceive us, and the world follows him (Ephesians 2:1-2), we also freely choose to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).
By our sin, we freely choose to determine right and wrong for ourselves (Genesis 3) which becomes the primary basis of our spiritual blindness. The fall of man is rooted in a willful spiritual blindness to reject what God says is good and evil and to determine for ourselves what is good and evil. We have since been following in the footsteps of our first parents. Thankfully, God has not fully given us all up to our desires, but saves us from our willful blindness and rebellion (Romans 1:24, 5:6).
Jesus Saves Us from Spiritual Blindness
Jesus has come into the world to save the spiritually blind and to save us from our spiritual blindness! 2 Corinthians chapter 4 speaks about the spiritual blindness of unbelievers in verse 4, but verses 5 and 6 talk about how Jesus brings light to our spiritual blindness to give us sight:
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Our Hearts Sanctified by God
May the Word of God through the regenerating and sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit pierce to the innermost parts of our hearts to remove our hearts of stone, and give us a heart of flesh that we may be able to see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
My prayer for you, dear church, is that which Paul prayed for the Ephesian church in Ephesians 3:14–19: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
References:
1) C.S. Lewis, “Is Theology Poetry?” They Asked for a Paper (London, Geoffrey Bles, 1962), 165. Quoted in David Powlison, Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture (Phillipsburg, P&R Publishing, 2003), Page 9.
2) Paul David Tripp, Instruments In The Redeemer’s Hands: People In Need Of Change Helping People In Need Of Change (Phillipsburg, P&R Publishing, 2002), Page 277.
3) Paul David Tripp, Instruments In The Redeemer’s Hands: People In Need Of Change Helping People In Need Of Change (Phillipsburg, P&R Publishing, 2002), Page 279.
1) C.S. Lewis, “Is Theology Poetry?” They Asked for a Paper (London, Geoffrey Bles, 1962), 165. Quoted in David Powlison, Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture (Phillipsburg, P&R Publishing, 2003), Page 9.
2) Paul David Tripp, Instruments In The Redeemer’s Hands: People In Need Of Change Helping People In Need Of Change (Phillipsburg, P&R Publishing, 2002), Page 277.
3) Paul David Tripp, Instruments In The Redeemer’s Hands: People In Need Of Change Helping People In Need Of Change (Phillipsburg, P&R Publishing, 2002), Page 279.
作者任本教會青少年傳道。原文見下篇：“Spiritual Blindness and Our Heart”。
Many children are familiar with the story about the twelve leaders who spied out the promised land of Canaan. In the story, Joshua and Caleb are standout examples of people who trusted and had faith in God. However, how many of us can name one of the other spies? Despite this, we can still learn from their examples.
Over-planning for Nature Walks
Many people enjoy nature walks. However, I am a risk-averse indoor person. Before an outdoor walk, I tend to over-plan and over-prepare. I would map out the route, estimate the time needed, check the weather, wear suitable clothing, and bring several supplies (water, maybe some food, a small first aid kit). Because I hate mosquitoes, I would also bring plenty of bug repellent. After lots of planning and packing, I would finally feel ready for the great outdoors. My ultimate focus is to avoid mishaps and return home safe and sound. My planning is often successful so my wife calls me the family’s safety officer.
Years ago, I went on a short walk with a nature expert. As we walked, he pointed out evidence of all kinds of wildlife living in the woods among us. He listened to the bird calls and told me what kind of birds they were. He found egg shells and knew that nests were nearby. He knew what kind of nests these birds built and knew what to look for. He quickly spotted a nest hidden in a tree and pointed it out to me. I looked up to where he was pointing but I failed to see it because I did not know what it looked like.
He also pointed out paw prints, nests, dens, bones, egg shells, feathers, and much much more. Things that I never noticed before because I’m usually preoccupied with the mosquitos flying around me.
I would like to challenge us to apply the same metaphor to our spiritual journey. Are you more like me who tend to over-plan and over-prepare so that you would not have to deal with the dangers and obstacles you may face? Or, are you more like my nature expert friend, who can look past the mosquitoes and enjoy the amazing wildlife usually hidden from us?
God’s Fellowship in Our Spiritual Journey
In our lives, we face many spiritual obstacles and dangers. Some are minor while some are monumental. But God desires for us to not focus on these obstacles and distractions. Our spiritual journey is to enjoy the fellowship we have with our Creator, to see His handiwork, and to sing His praises as we take part in His good plans. God wants us to trust Him to take care of us throughout our journey.
Why God Sent Spies to Canaan
In Numbers 13:1-2, God promised to give the Israelites the good land of Canaan. It was God’s idea to send leaders from each tribe to spy out the land. God could have just led the people into the promised land and cleared out its inhabitants by Himself. Or, God could have made the inhabitants weak and feeble. God is more than capable of doing that. However, He chose not to do it that way. Why did God choose to send leaders to spy out the promised land? What did He want them to see?
In Numbers 13:17-20, Moses instructed the leaders to spy out the land and to give a report. They spent 40 days throughout Canaan to make a full assessment of the land. They assessed the quality of the soil, the formation of the land, the strength of the defenses, the structure of their society, the number of the inhabitants and their physical attributes. Imagine hiring twelve consultants with expertise in geology, botany, agriculture, sociology, security, military strategy and more for a period of 40 days. What a huge undertaking that would be. God does not want us to just submit and follow Him blindly. He gives each of us different experiences, skills, talents, and abilities. He wants us to use them for His purposes. God wants us to fulfill His plans with Him.
God sent these spies because these were leaders who held positions of respect and influence. They were public figures. These were not people who would just blindly follow others. God desires from all of us faith and trust in Him amidst our fears and doubts. Despite being leaders, God desired the same from the spies. By sending the spies out, and letting them see the overwhelming odds against them, God provided the Israelites an opportunity to witness His power in full display when He gives them the land.
Failing to See God’s Handiwork
Faith in God does not require us to put aside our intelligence, our talents, or our abilities. In fact, God designed each of us to be the person we are for His good purposes. We often overlook God in our lives because we fail to recognize His handiwork all around us. God is constantly working in our professional or academic life, our home and family life, our finances, our relationships, and even our recreation and vacations. When we fail to see how God is actively working around us, we minimize God while exaggerating our own significance. It’s easy to fall into thinking in terms of “me or God” instead of “God and me”.
In Numbers 13:31-33, the spies reported back. Indeed, Canaan was a good land as God had promised. However, they focused on their own inabilities. Ten out of twelve leaders omitted God from their assessment. Thus they totally missed out on the opportunity to see how God was going to give them the land.
Often, I am in awe when I hear testimonies of God performing miracles in the lives of others. However, I seldom expect similar miracles in my own life. Like winning the lottery, winning only happens to other people. People would tell me, “you can’t win if you don’t play.” I would like to say the same about God’s miracles. “You can’t expect to experience God’s miracles if you don’t pray.”
I would contend that the problem with the ten spies existed before their 40 days in Canaan. The ten spies failed to see God working in their everyday lives. They did not know God well enough to recognize His handiwork. Like me missing out on the wonders of the wildlife on my nature walks, these ten spies were not accustomed to seeing the wonder of God working among them in the common and mundane parts of their daily lives. Despite surviving ten plagues, led by pillars of smoke and fire, and crossing the Red Sea, the ten spies were unable to see God working up close and personal.
Who is God to you?
Many people only see God as a superhero who would swoop in when there is danger to save the day at the very last moment. However, in the absence of danger, we go about our lives without the need for a superhero. We can handle the daily stuff by ourselves. Only when trouble arises, we will send out the signal for help by falling to our knees and praying for help.
God is not a superhero but a loving Father. He cares about every aspect of our lives. He is involved with every aspect of our lives whether we can recognize it or not. Our loving Heavenly Father lives with us. He guides, teaches, protects, provides, comforts, disciplines, and so much more.
Who is God to you? Is He a superhero or is He a loving Father? Do you only seek God in the midst of danger and trouble or do you also seek God in the mundane daily activities of your life? Do you only praise God for the big answered prayers? Or do you also praise God for providing all the small things that you didn’t even bother praying for?
Depending on God
God does not want us to worship Him from afar like a superhero. He wants a personal relationship with us. He calls us His children.
As parents, many of us dream for our children to become independent, self-sufficient, and successful. We teach them to stand on their own two feet and be contributing members of society. We look forward to the empty nest stage of life when our children start their own homes and can provide for their own needs.
However, the desire of our Heavenly Father for us is opposite of our desire for our children. Our Heavenly Father desires us to return home to Him and learn to become more and more dependent on Him.
The ten spies failed because they did not learn to depend on God. They trusted only their own abilities. They could not see what was possible with God. Therefore, they rejected their promised home and instead wanted to go back to their former lives in Egypt.
Dwelling in Fear vs Responding in Faith
In Numbers 14:1-4, the faithlessness of the ten spies quickly spread among the people. They feared the giants and they doubted their own abilities. They also doubted God’s promise and His power. They wanted to turn back to the bitter days of crying and weeping in slavery in Egypt instead of going forward the land of milk and honey. Their lack of faith and trust in God prevented them from drawing closer to a loving Father and receiving His protection and His good gifts.
In Numbers 14:5-9, only Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb responded with faith and trust in God. But in verse 10, rebellion had already set in and the people were ready to stone their God appointed leaders.
In the midst of danger, fear and doubt are natural responses. They are survival instincts that help us live another day. Fear and doubt have their purposes. Without fear and doubt, faith and trust would be unnecessary. However, when seeking God, we need to respond supernaturally with faith and trust in Him despite having fear and doubt. This is not the same as simple wishful thinking. Our faith and trust in God has to be based on knowing who He is, what He can do, and what He has done. It has to be consistent with God’s character and His promises.
Fear and doubt is a natural response. It doesn’t take much for them to quickly spread among people like throwing a lit match into dry brush. A small flame can easily consume the dry brush and quickly spread to become an uncontrolled wildfire. The lesson here is that we must all be very careful with how we handle our own personal fears and doubts. Extreme caution must be exercised.
When we share our fears and doubts with others, are we seeking perspective and encouragement? Or are we seeking validation and affirmation of those fears and doubts? Do we want others to share our fears and doubts? Similar to how we should guard against gossip and slander, we need to be very careful when sharing with others. The spread of fear and doubt by the ten spies should be a warning for us.
On the other hand, faith and trust in God is not a natural response. Faith and trust needs to be intentional, practiced, encouraged, and nurtured. Faith and trust is like starting a controlled burn with the purpose to clear potential hazardous fuel for wildfires, to encourage new growth, and to promote the overall health of the existing forest. So when faced with the flames of adversity, do we allow it to burn out of control like a wildfire? Or do we allow God to use it to clear away dead brush so that our faith might grow stronger and healthier?
In Numbers 14:17-19, we are fortunately reminded that God is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sins. When our fears and doubts overcome our faith and trust in God, we need to repent and seek forgiveness. Unfortunately, we are also reminded that God is just and holy who does not leave the guilty unpunished. In these two chapters in Numbers, the consequence to the faithlessness of the Israelites is 40 years of wilderness wandering.
Examining Our Lives and Our Church
We need to examine our own lives and the life of our church. What do you see? The good and the bad – are they just random events? Is this just how life happens? What’s your focus? On your spiritual walk, are you distracted and worried about the giant spiritual mosquitoes buzzing around? Or are you able to see beyond that and be amazed by the wonders of God’s handiwork? Can you see daily evidence of His love and care for us?
Our Heart Attitude Matters
Our responses, actions or inactions do matter but even more importantly the attitudes of our hearts. They matter because this is what our Heavenly Father sees and cares about. It is hard to correlate between the causes and effects of our responses. God and His plans are much bigger than our limited understanding. His timing is His own. Our lives are intertwined with each other. Our lack of understanding does not mean that God is not in control of the big things as well as the small things in our lives. He cares and He lives among His people. We are His family and our Almighty God is not a superhero nor is He an absent father.
Tony Ng is the Director of Children’s Ministries at CBCGB. This article is based on Tony’s sermon at CBCGB on July 23, 2023.
