WHO ARE THE WEAK?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. The Lord protects and preserves them — they are counted among the blessed in the land — He does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.

I said, “Have mercy on me, Lord; heal me, for I have sinned against You.” My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die and his name perish?” When one of them comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it around.

All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, “A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.” Even my close friend, someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread, has turned against me.

But may you have mercy on me, Lord; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that You are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. Because of my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever.

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

Psalm 41

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As the 41st Psalm opens, we find David making the following assertion:

“Blessed are those who have regard for the weak.”

The message is clear. If you and I have regard for, that is if we have consideration and compassion for, the weak then we will be blessed by the Lord with benefits that include the following:

1. Deliverance from trouble.

“The Lord delivers them in times of trouble.”

2. Protection and preservation.

“The Lord protects and preserves them.” “He does not give them over to the desire of their foes.”

3. Viewed as being in the Lord’s favor.

“They are counted among the blessed in the land.”

4. Healing.

“The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.”

With all this from the truth of God’s word, we know that we have a lot to gain from caring from the weak. But God doesn’t want us to do good to those who are weak simply to receive His blessings. No, He wants us to regard the weak because He does and He wants us to shape our lives and attitudes to conform to His. We can do that when we allow Jesus Christ to live and abide in our hearts, the very Jesus who told us that when we do unto the least of those on earth, it was as if we were doing it unto Him (Matthew 25:35-40). Through Jesus, we will always be led to help the weak.

But who are the weak? Who do you view as weak?

Is it the person who is afflicted with a disease that has left them without strength to do what they used to do?

Is it the homeless person who lives an isolated life, sleeping wherever an open space allows and relying on handouts to eat and have the clothes on their backs?

Is it the smoker or alcoholic or drug addict who can’t seem to give up a bad habit?

Who is the weak? Everyone might have their own definition if asked. I can tell you mine.

For we all compose the weak. We‘re frail and fragile. We easily fall into sin and temptation. None of us can stand against the things of this world on our own strength. The Apostle Paul discovered the way to be content in any and all circumstances because he got this. He found out that the only way He could do all things was through Christ who strengthened him (Philippians 4:11-13) and delivered him from his weakness, the same Jesus Christ who has done and will continue to do likewise for the weak today.

Yes, we’re all weak. No one is immune from weakness and we all need care.

Thanks be to God that we have Him in our lives, our Great Caregiver who loves and nurtures us like no other. He is our very present help in times of trouble, our stronghold and protection through life’s storms, and our power when we feel powerless.

Yes, blessed are those who have regard for the weak but as we see in this devotion, the weak (i.e. all of us) are also blessed by the care they receive from the Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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