“He does not let us go when our hands are as weak as water”

This morning I wanted to post something that describes how I’m feeling right now. To be honest, I’m feeling just a little bit low. It’s been a strange week; There are some burdens that I’ve been carrying this week and, frankly, I’m also wondering if I’m not under some sort of spiritual oppression. Not that I want to pull the Spiritual Warfare card every time I’ve got a heaviness on my heart, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what’s going on.

Well, words don’t come easy, so no post was forthcoming. Then lo and behold I came across this quote fronted by the inestimable Rich in comment #643 of the Thinklings Word Tag Meme (which is, by the way, a splendid and clever little meme you really must check out. I must say, bravo and kudos to the intelligent and devastatingly handsome young man who created that meme!):

We all have our times of being strong and our times of being weak. The swings of the pendulum cover different ground for different ones of us, and the swings of the pendulum are of greater intensity for one of God’s children than another. But the swings are there for all of us – for weakness and unhappiness and also for sin. It is for this reason that any honest person must be totally in despair unless they understand the reality of the finished work of Christ upon the cross for us. If it was not for this, none of us could have any peace of mind either for this world or from the world to come.

The wonder is that when we know God’s forgiveness is based upon the infinite value of Christ’s finished work, we can then have peace of mind and knowledge of His love, even in the midst of our weakness and depression. And again, we all have depressions too; since the Fall, none of us are psychologically healthy or perfect morally. And I must say that depressions are very hard. This is not unknown to me; though most people do not know it, I have my own periods of depression which are very difficult. I realize that they are not as deep or as often as some people’s…. But I do understand the depth of feeling that can be involved. But again – and I speak here not from theory but from experience – in the midst of our down times we can know that His arms are about us, and that He does not let us go when our hands are as weak as water. [Emphasis mine]

— from Letter Thirteen, Times of Strength and Times of Weakness, Francis A. Schaffer’s letters written to friends

Yes.

I also think that the higher highs and lower lows that are often part of the Christian experience are aspects of the abundant life that Jesus promised us. And, of course, we all experience that life differently and at different intensities.

And it’s all good, because of the reality of what Christ did for us on the Cross.

“in the midst of our down times we can know that His arms are about us, and that He does not let us go when our hands are as weak as water.”

7 thoughts on ““He does not let us go when our hands are as weak as water”

  1. Great post Bill! This is a reminder we can all use. This is a side of Schaffer that can be glimpsed in most of his work. I found that there is a book of his letters.

    You have my prayer.

  2. oh man, i’ll be honest, I didn’t have time to read everything. But I love francis schaeffer, you know this, You couldn’t have chosen a better peice.

    Thanks for being real and authentic, demonstrating a healthy way to express our not-so-good moments, you are a great encouragement for us to be real, and I love it.

    –steven

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