Giving thanks for weaknesses...

My list of things I am thankful for is a bit different this Thanksgiving season. Having been diagnosed with ADHD on October 20, I began to read a bit about the disorder. What little information I’ve gathered so far has given me plenty to be grateful for.

Take this sentence for example: “Untreated adults with ADHD often have chaotic lifestyles, may appear to be disorganized and may rely on non-prescribed drugs and alcohol to get by.”1

Those few words make me thankful for all God has done for me throughout my lifetime. He gave me parents who disciplined me when I was young so that I learned self-control. I know I am a bit squirrelly at times, but God’s Spirit within me has kept me from many dangerous behaviors that could have destroyed me. I give God credit for the ability he has given me to focus on my work most of the time. I am grateful that God has given me many friends who tolerate my sometimes off-the-wall antics. Those closest to me are quick to forgive my sometimes insensitive outbursts and my more-frequent-than-I-like inattentiveness during conversations. I am especially grateful to God for a patient wife. I am thankful God gave me a deep-seated fear of becoming an alcoholic which led to a complete disinterest in drinking. I likely would’ve become an addict with the first sip.

I don’t say any of this to point to me. I am weak. I say it all for God’s glory. He is strong. He deserves all the praise for whatever good there is in me. It is his power that has made me who I am despite my ADHD.

God’s grace has been and will continue to be sufficient for me, just as it was for Paul suffering from a “thorn in [his] flesh”. It is sufficient for you whatever difficulty you are facing today. God’s power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness.2 It is being made perfect in mine too. It will be made perfect in your weakness if you will trust him.

To God be the glory! Great things he has done! Great things he will do! Give thanks to the Lord!

To receive my once or twice weekly message via email, send a blank email to webmessage-subscribe@associate.com. Past messages are available at freegroups.net/groups/webmessage.

1Gentile, Julie; Atiq, Rafay; Gillig, Paulette. Adult ADHD: Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, and Medication Management. Psychiatrymmc.com. Retrieved 10-23-2009.
2 See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 for more on Paul’s weakness.