I want to be weak...said no one.

Okay, who increased the earth's gravity yesterday? No, really, my body felt like it weighed three times my normal weight! By 12:30 PM I was fighting the urge to collapse on the couch. Is there still sickness afoot in my body? Am I suffering from Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD), or are the winter doldrums clawing at my brain? Spring fever? Perhaps.

Ever feel this way? Have you been physically wiped out, emotionally wrecked, and spiritually empty? Hopefully these don't all come at the same time. Often, they do. When I am not feeling quite right, it is my plan to pull back from various duties and seek rest for my body, mind, and spirit. I seek healing.

"Jesus loves me this I know,

for the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong,

they are weak, but he is strong."

I sense (even though I don't like it) when I am suffering, my witness might be stronger and more effective. When I am weak, anything beneficial that comes out of my mouth will almost always be from the Lord. When Randy disappears from my witness and Jesus becomes clearly displayed, then good things happen for God's Kingdom. Apostle Paul encouraged the believers in Corinth to not give up hope. The church was under great pressure from many external forces and their strength was waning. Here in 2 Corinthians, Paul writes this:

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from

us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the

death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NIV)

Despair is the great enemy for followers of Jesus, because in this, we lose hope. Robbed of a reason to move forward will often become a growing stagnant pool of heaviness for us. In Corinth, Paul admitted that persecution was evident but not winning. Lent often seems to be a season of gray, somber, dull moments. Time leading toward Holy week builds an overwhelming melancholy and that's okay. Take heart my friends,

"....weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5b, NIV)

Our hope as believers is not wound up in us, but in Jesus Christ! He is the one who gives us strength even when our body, mind, and soul are held in check by an unseen dark clamp.

Right now, if we can inhale hope and exhale despair, then God can use you and me.