Theme:   Elevate: Next Level Spiritual Growth - Making a Difference

This eDevotional was written by a volunteer from Timberlake Church. 

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Think: One of the most common fears people have, is the fear of public speaking. I’ve heard stories of people fainting in the middle of choir performances, and people freezing during speeches. Most recently, we saw a presidential candidate forget a major point he was trying to make, in mid-sentence. He ended his stammering with, “oops.” It’s precisely these kind of humiliating and well publicized “oops” moments that keep most folks from ever stepping behind a podium.

In high school, I had a singing and dancing part in a musical drama, in which I blew the lyrics, and sang “la la la la” instead. I survived the song, and pulled it together enough to finish. But after the fact, my fragile teenage ego was devastated. So much so, that when the drama group gathered to watch the video of our performance, I couldn’t bear to watch myself and left the room until my song was over.

We are complex creatures with profound strengths and abilities that move mountains, cure diseases, travel at light speed down the information highway. In these things we find our pride. But it’s the weaknesses and deficiencies that we keep hidden.

I wonder what would happen if we were able to accept both our strengths and our weaknesses as holy before God? I wonder, if both were surrendered, what God would do with them?

We may have an answer in the way the Apostle Paul talks about the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:22-25. He says, “Those parts of the body that seem to be the weaker are really necessary. And the parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give the most honor. We give special respect to the parts we want to hide. The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it so our body would not be divided.”

Now I’m pretty sure that Paul is talking about the church in these passages, but the meaning certainly applies to the individual as well. God doesn’t want us hiding parts of ourselves that we feel are too weak, too ugly, too shameful to expose. No, He desires that they are brought into the light and given special care. What if we were able to bring some honor to the weak parts of ourselves? What would that look like? What I needed, at the tender age of 17, was someone to encourage me in spite of my error. I can’t go back in time, but I can do something about it now. I can have a chat with my younger teenage self that is housed somewhere deep inside, the one with big hair and a Petra t-shirt, and say something like, “those sure were beautiful ‘la la las’. You kept the show going! There’s nothing to be ashamed of!” Though simple, I think this is what Paul means by giving “special respect to the parts we want to hide.”

When we can accept God’s open hand of love and honor for the weakest parts of our own selves, we are able to do the same for others. Then we can extend the honor and respect we’ve received from the Father to the people who need it around us.

Do:  What is your embarrassing moment? What do you think God is saying to you now to help you bring honor to past weaknesses?

Pray: God, You see the weaknesses that I try hard to hide. Help me to surrender those to You so You can bring wholeness and maturity to me. Amen.