We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;  we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. -2 Corinthians 4:7-9

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

In His Grip is a weekly e-mail intended to provide inspiration and hope to those fighting cancer.
A ministry of Stronghold Ministry.          Subscribe here.

*If you’re fighting cancer, please write and let us know how we can pray and support you.
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“For by their own sword they did not possess the land, and their own arm did not save them, but Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, for You favored them. You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push back our adversaries; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. But You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted all day long, And we will give thanks to Your name” (Psalm 44:3-8).

Some days just seem… evil. Days when the messages in my head are so negative. I can’t seem to fight them. I think this is what Paul meant by “the day of evil” (Ephesians 6:13). Days of rejection, inadequacies, confusion. Days when I realize I am so vulnerable, weak and losing my grip. Feeling overwhelmed.

Yet He never said I had to fight my own battles. In fact, He said if I did, I would lose. I cannot truly trust in my bow, my schemes, ideas, medicine, doctors, friends, family; it is Him alone. My cry to Him brings my victory. He comes through as I hide myself in His Word. He is my refuge and protection.

I am going to snuggle up in Your right arm, Your Son, and watch as You show Your glory today.

In His Grip is a weekly e-mail intended to provide inspiration and hope to those fighting cancer.
A ministry of Stronghold Ministry. Subscribe here.

*If you’re fighting cancer, please write and let us know how we can pray and support you.

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There is an “aha” moment in the life of every young eagle. The revelation comes at the most opportune time, during the worst crisis of its life, while it is plummeting towards the earth. Forces of gravity yank it faster and faster toward the ground. Utter panic sets in as it desperately scrambles to break its fall. It instinctively tries to lighten itself. As it attempts to push off the two “weights” that have dangled at its side, it discovers their true purpose. The weights catch air, giving the bird lift. It soars; visiting heights it could have never attained, if not for its mortifying freefall to earth. No wonder its mother pushed it out of the nest, catching it before impact over and over, until it learned a central truth of its existence, that those weights are wings.

The greatest crisis in my 50 years of life was an appointment with the ground during my battle with Stage IV metastatic melanoma. He had pushed me out of the nest to learn that my weaknesses are my true strengths. My education continues. He catches me each time I fall; each time I fail to flap. So be patient with yourself and others, until we all grasp a central truth of our existence, those weights are wings that lift us to God.

Paul said his weights were wings in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

Isaiah had an aha moment too, though it appears his readers hadn’t yet:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary. And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

What is weighing you down today? Only what can lift you up tomorrow.

In His Grip is a weekly e-mail intended to provide inspiration and hope to those fighting cancer.
A ministry of Stronghold Ministry. Subscribe here.

*If you’re fighting cancer, please write and let us know how we can pray and support you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A while back I was working with one of my students, and in the middle of the lesson he said to me, “Ms. Terri, did you know that we are made of more nothing than something?” He proceeded to tell me how science has proven that cells have more empty space, than filled space. More nothing than something. At first I laughed at him, and then I got excited because in Colossians 1:17 it says, “In Him all things hold together.” And in Ephesians 1:23 it says Jesus, “Fills all and is in all.” Made me think maybe there is more of Him in me than me, which opens up all kinds of possibilities.

The invisible is becoming more real; especially since what I see is often overwhelming and out of my control. Talking to an invisible God, Who holds everything together, is a faith walk into the invisible. So, reading Psalm 32:7, I say His words out loud to Him, “You are my hiding place; you preserve me from trouble, and surround me with shouts of deliverance.”

I want to hear His “shouts of deliverance.”
How do I do that?
I have to quiet my heart to hear.

He says they are “shouts.” Listen to these shouts.
*Nails pounded into His hands and feet (delivering me from punishment for my sin).
*Thorns placed on His head (a reminder that He bears the thorns we deal with everyday).
*The vinegar He drank (drinking the comfort He gives in the middle of letting go of all my dreams).
*His tears of blood (bearing the anxieties, worries and fears of future trials). 
*Dragging His own cross (so that we could benefit from His Resurrection Life today).
*Then finally His last shout, “IT IS FINISHED.”

It may seem foolish to cut back vine branches to produce more and better grapes. Yet pruning is a centuries old practice of vinedressers. Sometimes after pruning, grapes don’t return in force for two full years.

In the same way, the Lord allows “counterproductive” cutbacks in our lives. It could be a job loss, health issue or a struggle in a relationship. With pruning, situations may vary, but pain is usually involved. So we tell Him, “Lord, You don’t understand; I could be so much more productive if You would only change this circumstance… today!” I’m glad He doesn’t take orders like some genie in a bottle. He really is better at being God.

We may conclude trials signify He is angry with us. Yet Jesus stated just the opposite. The reason He prunes those who bear some fruit is to enable them to produce more. In His words:

John 15:1-2 -  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

So what does He accomplish with pruning? In short, dependence.

John 15:4-5 -  “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

The Lord is obviously not impressed with our self-generated attempts to serve Him. Unattended vine branches can have rapid, but mostly worthless growth, yielding few and low quality grapes. In the same way, apart from Him, our relentless activity is worthless, producing no genuine spiritual fruit. Unless we consciously depend on the life of Christ within to produce fruit, we can do “nothing.” Wait, nothing? Nothing of value. He is dogmatic on this matter of source. So, are we living off His life, or our own paltry human strength?

First things first though; we can’t depend upon the life of Christ, if He is not inside us. Maybe someone reading needs to take that first step of receiving Christ into your life. He enters in by invitation, as He says in John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” More on receiving Christ here.

So we might tie together the concepts of pruning and dependence in this way: He allows hardships to bring us to the end of our own strength, and to encourage us to draw resources from  Him. This explains why we find ourselves helpless to change frustrating circumstances, because it is only in our weakness and desperation that we switch over to Christ as the source of life. So don’t fight the trials, whatever they may be. Sure,  ask Him to remove them, but realize they are not senseless. They teach us to abide in Christ, and we only discover the fullness of life through Him. This is true: I heard it from the grape vine.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB(c).