If dependency is the goal, then weakness is the advantage.

Jesus rocked my world this summer.  I clung to Isaiah 55:11 from May 13th on.  "So is my word that goes out from my mouth.  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."  Again in Isaiah 14:24 it says "The Lord Almighty has sworn, 'surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.'"  It's weird to think about every situation being purposed and knowing that everything the Lord wants to happen will happen.  Everything that He promises will come to pass because He is faithful.  So many times this summer I questioned my role and my purpose in my role.  My consistent prayer was that the Lord would make me "good" at my job.  I was in a leadership position at camp and I felt I had nothing to offer.  Every morning I would wake up begging God to make me adequate for the challenges I was to overcome.  Every single day the Lord provided the boldness and the strength and energy to do my job.  There came a point in the summer where I realized I didn't want to be "good" at my job because then I wouldn't need Jesus.  I have slowly grown to love my weaknesses because it forces me to cling to my God each day for the things I need to be successful and victorious in all that He has planned for me.

My friend Sarah Ellison put it perfectly; If dependency is the goal, then weakness is the advantage.  I don't ever want to be in a place where I am good at anything or capable of anything without the Creator of the universe.

Dependency is the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else.  It is being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is habit-forming.  It is an over-reliance by a person on something.  The state of needing help.

This definition of dependency is beautiful to me because it paints a picture of what I want my dependency on Jesus to look like.  I want to overly rely on Him for everything.  How can we not depend on the very one who speaks what will come to pass?  The very words He says become life.

But he said to me, “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

Being at camp is like being on the top of a mountain with the Lord.  It is a pure and beautiful thing to be captivated by our King in a place where it is encouraged.  But we weren't created to live on the top of the mountain.  My boss, Lanie, spoke about our purpose to dwell and grow in the Valley.  At the top of the mountain you can see everything.  It is a place to put life into perspective.  But at the top of the mountain, nothing grows, because trees and life grow in the valley.

I am encouraged to thrive in the valley I'm in because I know that everything that happens has to go through the Lord's hands first.  It has to be spoken first because His words will not return to Him void.  I love waking up every morning begging the Lord to do with me what He wants.  Dependency is my goal and my weaknesses have become my advantage.

The Lord accomplished all that He planned for this summer and I believe that His word did not return back to Him empty.  Kids came to know Him this summer and the sweet gospel was shared.  People were healed, and restored.  People were set free, and given life.  I was stretched and molded and reminded that I don't have to be anyone but a Child of the Most High King.  I am now back in the valley and ready to do work for His kingdom in anxious anticipation of His coming.