My left shoulder has been bothering me for weeks and I recently went to an osteopath. As I lay down on the bench, he soon started to pull and stretch my arm and knead my shoulder. We chit-chatted and I mentioned that I am a missionary. Last Friday I went back for another session. Working on my shoulder again, he asked, “You’re a missionary, aren’t you?” “That’s right.” “Are you a pastor, too?” “Yes, I am.” “Are pastors also Seelsorger?” using the German term for those who “care for the soul.” “Certainly,” I replied. “In addition to preaching and teaching, pastoral counseling is one of our main tasks.” “Do you have parishioners who are fearful these days— what with all the craziness going on—not knowing if we’ll have enough heat this winter…that crazy man in Russia threatening us all with nuclear weapons…?“ “Yes, a lot of people are frightened and it’s no wonder. We are living in very strange times.” “Are you fearful too? “Not really…there are already so many things in life we can’t control—just take your heartbeat for example—now we just have a few more things that we have no power over. But 2 Corinthians 12:9 offers a wonderful solution…aaah…” He had just moved my arm into a painful position. “Jesus Christ tells us, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” What He means is that in our weaknesses we Christians should draw not from ourselves but from Christ’s own strength. Think of it this way: our health, personal relationships, finances, security—all of them very good things—are like water in a drinking glass. But sometimes God allows that water to be poured out—and that is painful!—to make more room in our drinking glass…for His wine. Like John the Baptist says, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). “Hmmm… that makes me feel better. Drawing from Christ’s strength because we are often running on empty…Thank you for that… How is your shoulder?” “Still hurts,” I grinned.
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