I praise the Lord that in His providence the little church I pastor is small enough that when half of them were involved in an outreach at the Cornish town fair through the music of the group Gospel Train one Sunday morning, we were able to simply move our worship service to the afternoon. This afforded me the opportunity to share a devotional for those who may not be able to attend their local church, which originally appeared at the website Slice of Laodicea where I am a contributor.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9, KJV)

A.W. Tozer, one of the best teachers of the Bible concerning the more spiritual side of our walk with our Lord, was also speaking to our generation when he wrote:

Today more than ever we Christians need to learn how to sanctify the ordinary! In this cynical generation, people have been overstimulated to the place where their nerves are jaded and their tastes corrupted. Everything is common and almost everything boring. The sacred has been secularized, the holy vulgarized and worship converted into a form of entertainment.

Without question these are difficult spiritual times we are now living through. I say it this way because it is my view that the average person who would be bold enough to even dare call themselves a Christian lives in such a way that if there were no God at all their lives really wouldn’t be much different. They would still read the Bible on occasion, say a prayer or two, go about their daily lives, work, and relaxation time with a certain level of morality, and if God is there or not it wouldn’t really change anything as to how they order their lives.

This sad state of “Christianity” here in America is actually the byproduct of the faulty fruit of the Church Growth Movement as expressed through the various arms of its Ecumenical Church of Deceit steeped in its pathetic pelagianism and the resultant interfaith/interspiritual inclusivism. But I offer you encouragement today that our Lord is in control and I tell you the truth that what we are seeing is actually a spiritual affliction, an "infirmity" of sorts in order to drive His very precious sheep to His feet.

Beloved, do you remember Psalm 119:

Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy Word. Thou art good, and doest good; teach me Thy Statutes... It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy Statutes. (vv.67-68,71, KJV)

O how great and wonderful is our loving God Who is giving us the chance in this generation to be “made perfect in [our] weakness.” So rather than be discouraged and exasperated as this apostasy grows, those of us who hear His Voice should instead “glory in” these spiritual “infirmities,” in order “that the power of Christ may rest upon [us].”

So, can you see it now? The LORD God Almighty is completely in control and these times we now live in have come that we might be driven to His Word, and driven to our knees in order that we as the Body of Christ might:

lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Today I exhort you to lift up your eyes my dear brothers and sisters, and behold the coming power of our Great God and savior Jesus Christ upon His true Church.