Good morning everyone and welcome back to another mornings with the masters.

We're to devote ourselves to the Lord.

Naily with you.

We were picking back up with new morning mercies,

and I'm just going to take it from here.

I don't know about you, but I tend to not like being weak. I don't enjoy physical or

spiritual weakness. I want to be right. I want to be strong, able, and in control.

I don't want to feel like I'm not up to a challenge. I don't want to be

confused or unready. I don't want to feel unqualified for the task of hand. I don't want to

be the one who is keeping things from getting done or the one who's

holding others back. I don't like it when it seems that there are things I

should know that I don't know. I don't want to look back at situations with regret wishing that I had had a stronger resolve and the power to follow through.

I don't want to stare failure in the face. I don't want to let myself or others down. I want to have a track record

that I'm a proud of. I don't find weakness to be very comfortable. I guess what I'm

saying is is that I don't want to be who I am or face who I am.

And I suspect you're a lot like me. We all dream of independent strength and ability.

We all crave independent knowledge and wisdom. We all want

righteousness of our own. But the fact is that not only were we not created to be independent, but also sin has ravaged us and left us even weaker and more

needy.

The theologians call it total depravity.

It doesn't mean that we are as bad as we could be, but that sin has done its cruel work on every aspect of our personhood, so independent strength is a delusion.

This means that your weakness is not the great danger to you that you think that it is.

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