In the days since the earthquake in Haiti, there have been thousands of incredible and heartbreaking pictures flooding the internet and our TV screens of the devastation and human suffering in that country.
On January 19th, CNN published a set of photo’s on their website which painted a stark and disturbing picture of the state of the country both in terms of the buildings and infrastructure and by way of the state of the newfound poverty and desperation of the people there.
I invite you to go look through the pictures before reading the rest of this post but I will warn you in advance, some of the pictures are VERY disturbing and sickening and you should not visit this link if you find pictures of death and disease too emotionally, mentally or physically disturbing.
I do not have the words to describe what I see in some of those pictures. The human toll of the earthquake is incredible. The latest estimates I’ve seen put the death toll at over 150,000 – although how it’s possible to accurately measure such numbers in a situation like that is beyond me,
One picture though really stood out to me. Second to the bottom of the sixth page, lies a photograph of a man apparently crushed to death by a falling building.
Now, I know nothing about this man but it seems to me that he had a strong, muscular body – and it’s probably not too much of a stretch to think that he was proud of his strength and muscle tone.
It’s most likely that nobody knows how this man came to be inside the building that ended his life. Maybe he ran in to rescue someone. Maybe he had been upstairs and hadn’t been able to get downstairs and outside in time. Maybe he was asleep. There are so many possible reasons why but there’s one fact that remains:
No matter how strong he was, no matter how fast, no matter how fit and healthy, he was no match for the deadly power of a collapsing building.
You see, no matter how hard we work, how much we try to be healthy and maintain our strength and vitality, we are, ultimately, frail, helpless beings. We are no match for the power of the forces of nature. We are tiny compared even to the things we build ourselves.
We are mere specks on this huge planet, which is itself a tiny speck in the universe, which is itself small compared to the immensity of Almighty God.
In life, the man in the CNN picture may have been a hero, he may have been a teacher, a great man but in death he has reminded me of a truth that I too easily forget:
I am only as strong as I give God permission to be in me.
What I think of as strength is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It is only when I humble myself and allow God to work through me, to be strong IN me that I truly have any strength at all.
7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
How about you? Do you have an inflated opinion of your own strength? Do you try to do things in your own strength and fail? How easy do you find it to humble yourself enough to allow God to be strong in you?
For some creative ways to give to the relief effort in Haiti, check out Jason and Kevin’s blogs.
Thanks, Peter, great article! Reminded me of this:
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (English Standard Version)
23Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
Thanks, Danny.
That's a great passage – and one that we should take more seriously!
Yes. Natural and personal disasters remind me of my helplessness in the Big Picture, but that God is my Father, looking after me, even when my eyes are not developed enough to see Him clearly, or understand what He is doing.
So true, Helen.
We all have thorns, some of us are pretty good at hiding them, but they're there just the same.
I'm not understanding the thorns references today… can you explain? I'm feeling kinda dumb
It could be a disease like, say, diabetes or cancer, or an addiction or a sin someone struggles with. Anything that has the potential to separate us from God. Something we have to lay at the foot of the cross every day. Make sense?
Yes, I have a huge opinion of myself. I think I can take on anything. It's easy to forget how frail we are… how frail I am.
It reminds me of what Job said to God: "Remember I pray that you have made me like clay." I need that reminder too.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength
Yep. And no matter what we do, how we strive, how strong we are–we aren’t in control. Apart from God that can be terrifying to think about. When we surrender to Him, it’s amazing freedom. Thanks Peter.
I can't imagine living life NOT knowing that God is in control!
I love that God challenges us to boast in our weakness instead of our strength. I was recently on a hike with my pastor. We were heading up to a place with a water fall that was frozen in the recent cold weather. The hike is pretty long, but the first 2/3 is so easy. It is more or less level, maybe slightly inclined over the 2 miles. Then it abruptly changes. It starts going back and forth up a pretty steep mountain face. Nothing sheer vertical or even close but it is a good mile, maybe mile and a half of serious grade. My pastor suffers from severe migraines and the worst kind cause him to pass out. He started having one of those about half way up. Basically the blood vessels going to his brain start constricting causing his brain to lose oxygen. This sucks the energy right out of him. When I saw what we were going to be walking up I felt confident. Then he started having this attack and I started thinking through what I would do if he passed out. Could I carry him out? Did I have a cell signal? Could I even describe to rescuers where we were? Then my own strength started failing me. I began thinking we should turn back and give up. We crested the ridge and saw the water fall and I learned a few things about myself. Most importantly I learned that my strength isn't enough for simple things, but I also know that when I am totally weak God can show up in big ways.
those thorns
i hate those thorns
and decay
and death
yet
i know
i know
i
know
God will use them for his Glory
and
my hope
my soul
is His
Between all you poets, you're going to make me into a poetry lover. I can tell 🙂
Peter, thanks for this post. I read it yesterday and wanted to comment on it. But ran out of time in the day.
I totally have this point of view about myself. Often I have daydreamed about some event, some disaster, something, where I end up being a hero and come out unharmed. I've been "capable" my whole life. Capable of doing this and doing that. I have a friend who defines me as someone who is "capable". And that mindset lends itself to a selfish independence. I struggle greatly with this. I do not depend on God because of it. This needs to be my constant reminder and prayer every morning, before every meeting, before every thing I do. I need to write it on my doorframes and my gates, tie it on my wrist, put post-it notes everywhere. I need to remember that I'm not capable of ________ without God.
It's a hard balance to find… that between moving in the gifts and abilities that God has given you and relying on him for strength.
I think it's something we all struggle with, even to the point that sometimes we rely TOO much on God and don't actually get out and do what we should be doing!