My Neediness is my Strength

“My neediness for God is my honor and not my shame.” - JD Gravitt

Lately more than ever I’m in desperate need of God, a moment alone with Him, a whisper from His heart to mine, direction on which way to go, peace to get me through the day, healing for my often aching body, all of it…desperately. Some people may see that as weakness. For me it is right, it is wisdom & it is a blessing. I’m glad that I understand & know my neediness for my creator. As I go through each day His Spirit is like the air that keeps me alive, the water that quenches my thirst, the compass that leads me in the direction I should go. Without Him I am lost & I’m ok with that. I find comfort in the fact that I need Him.

“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. That 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.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

In life we usually see neediness as weakness, but with God our neediness for Him is our strength & honor. Once again, His ways are opposite of this world’s ways.

I was talking with a friend the other day who also has Lyme. We were discussing how we have to be so intentional & thoughtful about every single thing.. about what we eat, how much we rest, what we do, we have to slow down, eat super clean, we talked about how much we need God on a daily, hourly, minute by minute basis. I used to be able to go through a couple days without sitting quietly, listening to His voice. I mean I would still pray & talk to Him in my day to day life, but I could go a few days without a one on one, face to face quiet time. Not anymore. I am so needy for Him.

As I thought about all of these things that have made me “weaker” & more needy I realized that I am actually better because of them. I eat better, I rest more, I have to be more intentional with my time, I have to sit before my creator daily. I am so ok with all of that. It’s just a matter of thinking differently. When all is going well & we are “strong” & capable of providing for our own needs & able to stay busy with life & all of it’s demands, it’s easy to forget how much we need God. And to me that is a travesty.

There’s something wonderful & empowering about knowing our limitations & frailty. It allows us to be emptied of our own strength, plans & agendas & to be totally dependent on Him & His strength, power & voice speaking into every detail of our lives.