Tag Archives: Christian living

Power in Weakness

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Terri Nida

… I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 8 (NLT)

Sometimes I feel so lost. I wonder how I can add any value to this world in my current condition. As selfish as it sounds, I’ve laid in bed for two or three days at a time in the darkest funk wishing I were not part of this world. On those days I refuse to get in my wheelchair and go out of my room or even outside to get fresh air. At some point I will finally ask myself, how did I get here? And the answer is always the same: I’ve relied on my flesh to cope in my world and not on the Spirit of our mighty God.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. – Galatians 5:16 – 17 (NLT)

What does my flesh want? To feel sorry for myself. To be isolated and sit in the dark. To just give up. Even when I was able-bodied I felt these things. When I’m relying on myself (my flesh) I am doomed and enslaved by darkness. Through prayer and faith, I can be set free and live in the light.

Without God, I would never be able to endure my life circumstances. None of us would be able to endure our life circumstances, whatever they are! When I don’t take time to pray, look at Scripture, and spend time with my sisters in Christ who can challenge and encourage me, I am destined to fall into a deep depression and become bitter towards God. The reality is, I have no power and God has all power over all things. Why am I not relying on and trusting in him?

Today I felt weak. I slept very little last night and I didn’t want to get out of bed. But I’m sitting in my wheelchair and I’m talking to you about my weakness and God’s strength. Even as I started to write this blog, I got a bad headache and felt distracted and discouraged. But I prayed and I pushed through. I’m not trying to toot my own horn because we all have our own struggles. But today God’s power was made perfect in my weakness. In that I can boast.

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9 – 10 (NLT)

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Armor of God

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Terri Nida

Since my injury occurred a year and a half ago, I’ve developed fears which have resulted in deep-seated anxiety. I fear that as a disabled person I’m an easy target to be taken advantage of. I currently have a dispute with my last facility about overbilling. Unfortunately, I can’t walk through their doors in a power suit, armed with paperwork, and give them a piece of my mind. So instead I get worked up and frustrated to the point that I can’t think straight, all the while laying awake at night.

I also fear going to sleep at night. I’m afraid something will happen to me while I’m sleeping and I won’t know that it’s happening. It may sound outrageous to some but it feels like a real possibility to me. I’ve laid awake entire nights worrying and watching my door.

All of this anxiety boils down to two things: lack of power and lack of control. I truly have no physical power as a paralyzed person, but I do have the full armor of God which doesn’t require strong arms, legs, and hands to put on; it only requires control of a few simple things.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. – Ephesians 6:10

I first have to recognize who really has the power. This Scripture teaches me that God has mighty power. The devil wants to use these anxiety–producing thoughts to make me lose my faith in the mighty power of God.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:14 – 17

The Belt Of Truth – the Bible says in Proverbs 3:5 that I can trust God with all of my heart (and with all of my situations) and he will make my paths straight. It doesn’t say the paths will be smooth and easy, but God will lead me straight to him. The Bible also says in 1 Peter 5:7 that I can cast my anxieties on God because he cares for me.

The Breastplate of Righteousness – righteousness is what I strive for every day. I’m not perfect but it’s my goal.

The Shield of Faith – do I believe in a powerful God that is sovereign, loving, and protecting? Yes! This faith is what extinguishes the flaming arrows/negative thoughts. I sometimes recite Scriptures out loud to reinforce my shield (probably to the chagrin of my neighbors).

The Helmet of Salvation and Sword of the Spirit – which is the word of God. I stay in the word of God every day as much as possible. Even when I was able-bodied and didn’t make time the way I should have, I read at least one Scripture to hold in my heart.

God’s armor is not heavy. It actually makes the world much lighter. I’m thankful that God has a plan for all situations and his directions for steering clear of the evil one are concrete.

NOTE TO READERS: I also understand that sometimes counseling and medical advice is needed. I thank God for that as well.

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God Doesn’t Make Mistakes

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Terri Nida

I have had all kinds of thoughts about being a quadriplegic. Why did this happen? Am I being punished? Is this my fault? I can’t live like this another day! A few days ago I was depressed the entire day because I missed being able to sit on the couch cross-legged while sipping on a hot cup of coffee. I hated this way of life on that particular day based on that one simple memory. And then there have been some really bad days when I told people I didn’t want to live.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. – Hebrews 1:1

A dear friend reminded me yesterday that my life is the race set before me. And it’s not just any race, it’s a race personally assigned to me by God. My race is unique from others. There’s no need for me to compare, feel jealous, indulge in self-pity, or otherwise. This is my race. It just is. You have yours. I have mine. As I run my race, I am to be free of encumbrances and to run with endurance. I don’t have to be the swiftest but I need to make it to the finish line.

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. – Psalm 139:16

It’s taken a long time for me to come to terms with the following – my injury was meant to happen. I don’t understand why God allowed it to happen, but that’s not a requirement for me. I have no idea what God has going on behind the scenes, but the Bible says it’s too unbelievable for me to fathom. Maybe my broken neck injury saved me from something worse!

What I do know now is that this paralysis is not only part of my personal race it has been planned since before I was born. Some might say, why would God allow such a thing to happen? And I have to answer that question with another Scripture:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight… – Proverbs 3:5

No matter how frustrated, disgusted, or depressed I get about being a quadriplegic, I know I’m right where I am meant to be. I don’t have to understand why this happened. I just need to acknowledge that God is sovereign, loving, and good. And he doesn’t make mistakes.

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