All Blogged Out!
20/10/2013 17:55
It’s 9.08 p.m. on Saturday evening. I sit at my computer, my fingers poised over the keyboard. I begin to type. Writing energises me. So I should be invigorated and recharged as my fingers race over the computer keys. However I’m at the end of an extra busy fortnight and at the end of a very long day. I am too tired to think clearly. Too tired to string together clever sentences that will create a blog worth sharing.
I’ve spent the day with 300 other Baptists at our annual 4D conference. Developing, Discerning, Discovering and Deepening our passion for God and His kingdom. It was an inspiring beautiful day both without and within. As we drove to the conference centre, nature proclaimed our Creator God loudly. Sunlight danced, blue skies beamed, soft breezes blew. Connecting with many Christians in worship and prayer – listening, learning, connecting and growing together. A great experience. But now... I am exhausted.
I should have written my blog last Sunday. Only I was away in Brisbane at the time. I should have posted my blog this afternoon. Only I wasn’t at home to do it. I did have a crack at writing one two days ago. I had a great idea for it. But as I look at my first draft now, I find it needs a lot more work. And I am too tired to dabble in the arduous task of refining it. I ponder long and hard. I’m tired. Too tired to write a worthwhile blog.
Yes, I am All Blogged Out.
I don’t have any words of wisdom to sprout out today. (Do I ever?)
I don’t have any special spiritual truths to share. (Perhaps I shall tomorrow?)
I don’t have a beautiful blog to share with the world tomorrow. (May I be excused?)
Yes, I am all blogged out. But then... God nudges me. And guess what! He reminds me that I do have something special to share. 10 days ago, I was packing my bags to leave for Brisbane. I’d been waiting impatiently for this significant event for months on end. Very excited. But during the lead up to my trip, I’d been through three difficult weeks with a tough situation I was grappling with. It had sapped my energy. It left me feeling weak and powerless. Vulnerable. Spent. My spiritual tank was empty - its gauge reading ‘Zero’; with no chance of a refill.
How could God use someone who felt so powerless and so empty?
A wise friend spoke words that encouraged me. He said God uses us most when we are in a difficult place – when we are empty – when our weakness is all we have to offer Him. I eagerly held onto those words as I left for my conference. I grabbed onto hope.
I was thrilled to discover that my wise friend was right. Did God use me at the conference? I believe He did. Not because I was in a good place. But because He was there with me. Not because I had anything to offer. But because in God’s kingdom it is often our weakness that is our strength.
I was all emptied out. But He took over. My weakness was the perfect place for God to work in. What I do for him never depends on me. It depends completely on Him. The Bible tells us that we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that we know that our power comes from God. I am all blogged out today. But it doesn’t matter. It is God who called me to serve His world through my writing. And God who will use it in a way He will choose.
Do you feel weak today? Do you wonder if God can use you? Let me whisper a word of encouragement. You don’t have to have it all together when you step out to serve Him. It is not your ability that God works through. It is His Holy Spirit who makes the difference. If He has called you, it is enough. If He is leading you, it is more than enough.
And here’s something more. Not only did He use this empty vessel – He also filled it to capacity in the process. I returned from Brisbane with my cup running over. Knowing I could return to the difficult situation I’d left behind. Not because I can cope with it. But because He will guide me through. Just as He always does.
Yes, today I am all blogged out. But it doesn’t matter. What matters most is that Jesus is.
And He is always enough.
“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.” 2 Corinthians 12:9