OUR DAILY BREAD             Monday, January 30, 1995
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READ:  2 Corinthians 12:1-10

             WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS

   "Out of weakness (they) were made strong."

                        -- Hebrews 11:34

I'm always amused when I watch the loons lift into
flight off Piatt Lake in Michigan's upper peninsula.
They half-run, half-flap across the water for
hundreds of feet before getting enough speed to lift
into the air.  I wondered why until I learned that
unlike most birds, loons have solid bones.  Their
added weight makes it difficult for them to get
airborne.

I also learned that loons are clumsy on land because
their legs are set farther back on their bodies than
other birds.  Walking is so difficult that many
loons simply scoot across land to their nesting
places.  But these disadvantages -- heavy bones,
legs set far back -- are also tremendous advantages.
Because of their weight and leg placement, loons can
dive deeper, farther, and faster.  This is essential
for catching fish and escaping predators.

What we see as disadvantages in our lives can be
turned into advantages, and apparent weaknesses can
be transformed into strengths.  That was true of
the apostle Paul, whose "thorn in the flesh" became
an opportunity for God's strength to be seen in his
weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

Is a weakness holding you down?  Is it shyness or
a physical limitation?  Ask God to turn it into a
strength for His glory.

                                -- David C. Egner

          Inadequate but mighty --
        How strange, yet wholly true!
        Weak persons filled with power
        The father's work shall do.

                        -- Henry G. Bosch

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          THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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     Our limited potential accents
        God's limitless power.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Leviticus 8-10

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