Circumstances of life can turn otherwise strong individuals into weaklings. Whenever we are in the valley of our situation, things we have learned to do so well before become seemingly impossible tasks. It is however at this time of weakness that our faith calls us to remain fruitful. This is a struggle. How do we maintain fruitfulness in our weakest moments? How do we maintain fruitfulness when we are on the verge of losing all our strength? We must remember however that while we may be weak God is always strong. So, we must trust in the strength of God to go through the valley of our lives. We need God’s grace to remain fruitful when we are dealing with the tough times of our lives.
“And we know that in all things God works for the goodof those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). God will use the times we spend in the valley and the times we spend on the mountain top to fulfill His purpose in our lives. He is the same God whether we are on the mountain or we are in the valley. His grace is always sufficient. His grace can turn our weakness around and turn it to strength.
My brothers and sisters, every time the Lord looks at us, He sees great potential. He sees great potential to fulfill the purpose He has set before us. He wants us to look at ourselves and see this great potential even in our weakness. We may feel like Gideon, that we are the least of the least, or below ordinary. The lesson we learn from Gideon’s life is that ordinary people and ordinary means are used to accomplish extraordinary things. When you read the whole story in Judges Chapters 6 and 7, you will read about what Gideon was able to accomplish with some trumpets and jars and a few faithful men. Our God is a master at using the unlikely to achieve the impossible. He is an expert at turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Samson in his lowest moments, without his eyes and his hair, was still able to pull down the pillars of the temple to overcome his enemies (Judges 16:30). Time and time again in scripture, we see God’s power manifested in lives of people who on the outside may not look that impressive, but on the inside, have submitted and surrendered their lives completely to God. When we are weak, we have no choice but to surrender to God completely, and like they say, “one with God is majority”. When in our weakness or difficult times we leave everything to God, He can turn our weakness into great strength.
Look at the disciples, most were just simple fishermen, not wealthy, not educated, not very influential until Jesus got a hold of them and those uneducated fishermen turned the Roman World around within a period of 30 years. What is the situation you are dealing with? Are you dealing with a debilitating illness? God can turn that around and turn it into a strength. Are you struggling at your job? God can turn it into strength. Did you lose your job? God can turn it into strength. Remember He is poised to use everything as it concerns you for your good. So, it does not matter what our situation or circumstances are. God will accomplish whatever He has purposed in His heart to do.
Don’t ever lose hope and do not ever count yourself out. Apostle Paul struggled with his circumstances, what he referred to as a “messenger of Satan” that was tormenting Him. “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). What about you? His grace is sufficient for you. God wants us to depend on Him completely. The life of Gideon is a good example for all who desire to be used of God despite their circumstances. Do not let your circumstances hold you back. Look unto the Lord. Seek His face. Pray for grace. Once you have already answered His call, it does not matter how weak you are because God is in the business of justifying those whom He called, and those whom He justified, He also glorifies. When He calls, He alone gives the grace to be fruitful.– Pastor Simbo Odunaiya
