Vol. 22 No. 17 | April 27, 2020

So Weak and Helpless

When I sat down to write this week, I realized that I have run out of new words. So, I’m pulling out a piece I wrote many years ago, cut a few paragraphs and added a couple of new ones.

[Written: September 8, 2003, Published in Until Hope Returns, June 2018]
         “Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!” That is the honest cry of the struggling servant. That is the honest cry of one who tries to serve the Creator of the universe but wonders if he has the strength to continue. That is the heart cry of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters. That is the heart cry of the husbands and wives. That is the pleading of the disciple who wants more than anything to faithfully follow God, but who is growing weary, confused, and wondering if he has what it takes to overcome to the end. 
         “Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!” says the father as he watches his son makes one more decision that will lead him farther from home. He has prayed constantly since before the boy was born that he would be a good father. That he would have wisdom. That he would be able to guide this son as God would have him to. Now, he’s wondering what he did wrong. 
         “Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!” says the man who is struggling to keep his business going. He has integrity. He believes in doing what is right, but the “good guy” seems to be coming in last. He is not sure how much longer he can hold on.
         “Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!” says the single mom who must be mom, dad, friend, disciplinarian, and spiritual leader for the children she has been left to care for. She’s committed to bringing them to church regularly, but even that has become a battleground. 
         “Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!”

[Written: April 2020]

“Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!” says the ones who have lost their jobs and wonder how they are going to pay their rent. Those are the words of the schoolteacher who is preparing online classes for her students as well as helping her own children do their schoolwork and missing out on joys of being at home with her children. That is the confession of those of us who have been staying home to be healthy and to protect others, working from home but constantly feeling the need to do more.

 “Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!” says the medical workers who are and committed to being there with their patients, so they don’t die alone. Says the patient who is confused and dying, afraid and unsure why this is happening, and unable to communicate with his family. And that is the cry of the family members who cannot be with him, hold his hand, and tell him his is loved as he takes his last breath.

“Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!”
         God hears the cries. 
         He responds. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
         To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (1 Corinthians 12:7-10, NIV).
         “Lord, I feel so weak and helpless!” His grace is sufficient.

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2020 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved

A Norvell Note 2020

Vol. 22 No. 16 | April 20, 2020

Reminders from God

I have always tried to see the messages and lessons God is trying to teach me whenever I go through difficult times. Here are some of the latest:

I am well aware of everything that is going on, so you don’t need to be concerned about not being in control. 

God knows I need to be reminded of this often, and He does. Now, it’s on a daily basis. He is reminding me that I’m in His hands and His hands are strong and gentle. He is reminding me that since I’m not in control, I can relax knowing that He is capable and trustworthy.

I am well aware of your needs, your fears, your sadness, and you can be sure that I will continue to bless you.

He is blessing me with rest. He is blessing me with opportunities to connect and reconnect with friends and family, even if from a distance. He is blessing me with calmness. He is blessing me with a good job. He is blessing me with tools to communicate, words to read and share, and time for reflection. He is blessing me in ways I never expected. 

I am well aware of how you grieve for all My children who are dying, and I want you to know they are not alone.

He is with those who are suffering. He might be dressed as a doctor or first responder, but He is there.He is reminding me that it’s perfectly fine to grieve for them. But I have to keep looking forward and helping those He is placing in my path who are still living. 

He is reminding me of my purpose.  

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2020 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved

Vol. 22 No. 15 | April 13, 2020

Give Me Something To Do

Millions of people, more than we could have fathomed a few weeks ago, are now unemployed due to COVID-19. And even those who are fortunate enough to be employed, are often at a loss for what to do. 

One afternoon, when I slipped (or fell headlong) into a particularly deep abyss of helplessness, my favorite line from Sense and Sensibility came to me. It’s during the scene when Marianne falls extremely ill. Her suitor, Colonel Brandon, paces the halls, desperate for something to do to try to help her, and pleads, “Give me an occupation, Miss Dashwood, or I shall run mad.” 

You may be feeling something similar. Give me an occupation so I can support my family. Give me something I can do to help the frontline workers. Give me something I can do to make life better for people who are struggling…

Earlier that same day I was reading the Jesus story from Luke 4.

When Jesus stood up to read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

    because he has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

    and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:17-19, NIV) 

I can’t touch a blind person’s eyes and make him see. I do not have the means to feed all the hungry people in my community. And I don’t have the power to go into a hospice patient’s room and heal them. 

But I do have the capacity to listen to my wife, friends, and co-workers when they need to share their fears and concerns. I can share the good things I see and hear with people who might need their spirits lifted. I can listen to what the Spirit is saying and maybe calling me to do. And I can proclaim there is freedom in Christ, and even in these difficult times, God is with us and His favor is on us. 

I hope you will be gentle on yourself and others this week. And remember, you can’t do everything, but you can do something, and you can do it with love, compassion, and kindness.  

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2020 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved

A Norvell Note 2020

Vol. 22 No. 14 | April 6, 2020

What We Can When We Can

Not long before Jesus is put on trial and crucified, He is invited to a friend’s for dinner. During the meal, a woman comes into the room, opens a bottle of expensive perfume, and begins to pour it on His head. As described in The Message:

Some of the guests became furious among themselves. ‘That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.’ They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her.

Jesus defends her, saying, “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial” (Mark 14:8, NIV). Or as stated in The Message, “She did what she could when she could…” 

There is much we could discuss about this passage, especially during this season. But I want to focus on the underlying message in these words: “She did what she could when she could.” 

The man who puts on a mask and gloves and goes to the grocery store to get what his family needs for the week; and the man who checks in on his elderly neighbor to make sure she has what she needs…is doing what he can when he can. 

The woman who kisses her family goodbye and heads to the hospital to help care for the  sick; and the woman who sits down at her sewing machine to make masks for her friends and neighbors…is doing what she can when she can.

The men and women who load up their vans with packages and make their daily rounds; and the people who share their gifts, positive words, and guidance with others who might need them…are doing what they can when they can. 

All of us who are staying at home, and when we must go out, taking precautions to keep ourselves and those around us safe; all of us who are treating others with kindness, patience, and respect and doing our best to spread positivity…are doing the best we can when we can. 

The anxiety and frustration created by our inability to do and help more is likely to continue over the next few weeks. But we can only do what we can when we can. 

Let’s focus on that, and that will be enough.

“And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.” (9)

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2020 Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved