“His [sic] strength is perfect when our strength is gone, he'll carry us when we can't carry on. Raised in his power, the weak becomes strong...his strength is perfect, his strength is perfect...We can only know the power that he holds...When we truly see how deep our weakness goes. His strength...it must begin, when ours comes to an end...he hears our humble cry and proves again...his strength is perfect when our strength is gone”

~ Lyrics from the song, “His Strength is Perfect” by CeCe Winans


As I sat here with my foot elevated and iced, instead of jogging the 4 miles with my wife we were scheduled to jog this morning for our half-marathon training, I fell into a full-blown pity party. I also missed out on the 9 mile jog over the weekend! And all this just as the weather is starting to cool off, which we’ve been anticipating would be a welcomed reprieve after the hard training we’ve done all summer outside each morning in the Oklahoma heat. 

I have been an active person my whole life, and I love it. I made the habit of getting up from my desk job every hour before apple watch reminders were even a thing! I often do push ups against the counter while my coffee warms up, or squats next to my desk in between calls, or I take the dog down the street for a quick prayer walk mid-afternoon; because frequent, consistent movement has always worked for me to keep myself healthy physically, mentally and emotionally.  It’s a big part of my daily life! 

And so for the last 4 days I’ve not been able to do any of that (well, I did just try to do push ups while my coffee warmed up but my foot doesn’t want to bend very easily!). Anyway, along with this latest injury I’ve had a growing list of bizarre health issues that leave my doctor scratching his head. The tests say nothing is wrong with me, and in fact, I’m in excellent health! But that doesn’t help explain why all the little things keep cropping up. 

While my list of woes loomed large, I drew my attention to my breath and began to be thankful. And that is when the lyrics of this song bubbled up and I began to refocus. It happened quickly as the words reminded me that it is when I feel weak, that I can invite the strength of Christ to help. It is in that place of our most desperate disability that God wants to release the most tender power to help. 

Prayer: Wholly Able One, I am weak but you are strong. I invite you to my pain. I anticipate the inevitable, super-natural, intervention of You into my body and life today. I am becoming the best receiver of your grace. Today is no exception. May it be so as I respond with YES to your YES toward me. Amen.