Matthew 8:17 – This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases."

Do you have any idea how powerless I feel in many pastoral situations? So often, all I can do is sit and listen and hold a hand and lend a shoulder to cry on. Yet often God invites me to feel helpless and powerless, and often it is then that I can feel the power of God at work to touch and heal and transform the most difficult situation.

Bonhoeffer found the truth of this paradox in a Nazi prison:

Bonhoeffer, July 16, 1944

God let himself be pushed out of the world onto the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way, in which he is with us and helps us. Matthew 8:17 makes it quite clear that Christ helps us, not by virtue of his omnipotence, but by virtue of his weakness and suffering.

Prayer: God, use my feeble efforts today to fulfill your purposes and promote your plans. Make me weak that you may be strong, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

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About the author:

Kenn Stright <kennethstright@yahoo.ca>
West Petpeswick, Nova Scotia, Canada
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