The Glory of Helplessness

It is a very human thing to want to portray strength, to want to show others that we are self-sufficient, in need of no one and nothing. In our reading today in Isaiah 47 we saw words which display this so clearly: "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children." Babylon spoke such boastful words deluding herself of the realities of her condition. She would soon be cast down.

All of us as humans are apt to do this as a defense mechanism. Deep inside we feel a gnawing pang telling us of our inadequacy, our neediness. But the lost human soul tries to displace this inner feeling by denying it, by telling itself that all is well, by speaking words before others that lift oneself up.

But such a mechanism does not change the realities of the human condition. Masking those realities may make us feel good for a moment, but they can never heal the human soul. Believing a lie about oneself never leads to wholeness of being or living.

So what's the solution? Simply put, it is ceasing to resist the truth of our condition, our neediness, our helplessness. It is to "face the music" as they say. It is to receive the messages of truth which tend to knock us down before they lift us to the heights of glory.

When we do so, when we freely recognize our weakness, we are then in a place to cry out to the Lord. We see multiple examples of that in Psalm 107. Whether it is recognizing our loneliness - being without a home, or our bondage, or our lack of control of our life, or our sinfulness of heart, when we stop denying these realities and begin crying out to God, we find for the first time in our life that the healing begins.

You see when we deny the truth of our condition, when we try to maintain the image of strength, we never find release. We never find healing. But when we stop resisting the truth, and begin crying out to the Lord, we find a freedom in that. We find a release from the delusion that was keeping us bound.

It's funny how that works, but when we learn to rest in our condition, we find the peace, even the strength that previously alluded us. And now when we hear the voices of condemnation - often our own voice - we can smile and say, "Yes, it is true that I am needy. But I have a God who is sufficient. I have a God who fills me up, who is abundant in love and grace. I have given myself to Jesus who who is strong to lift me up."

Truly there is something healing in acknowledging our neediness and crying out to God. Until we do so, we keep the Lord's grace and abundant love at bay. We do that to our own peril.

Are you looking at yourself through God's lense, or are you still trying to maintain an image of strength? Cast off such folly, drink in the truth of your condition, cry out to the Lord, and receive His incredibly healing grace. There is truly glory in helplessness.