The Sorrow of Vulnerability

Click the video above to listen to today’s devotional.

—————————- 

“So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19).

The Grand Canyon possesses the ability to make every observer feel small. You feel this way because you are surrounded by immense beauty. What you have seen before pales in comparison to what is before you. Everyone feels small when exposed to wonders greater than themselves.

The Grand Canyon eclipses you and me, but something else can make you feel smaller. There is still something that can take any space you are in and force you to feel insignificant—it is vulnerability.

To be vulnerable is to be known. To be known is to be exposed. To be exposed brings sorrow at times. Naomi returned from Moab without anything. What she departed with returned void. Notice what the text says: “the whole town was stirred because of them.” The word “stirred” possesses many possible translations, but all agree the effect is everyone knew Naomi left delightful and full, but returned empty and bitter. In short, Naomi was the topic of conversation. She was forced to be vulnerable.

We, too, know the feeling of vulnerability. In one sense, vulnerability is good; it means people know the real you. But when thrust upon you involuntarily, it can be overwhelming. There is sorrow within vulnerability because it means you are susceptible to harm. Or, to say it plainly, you don’t have it all together.

Take a moment and reflect on moments of vulnerability you’ve experienced. How have those times impacted you? What sense of sorrow did you experience?

As you note the moments of being known, reflect on Psalm 139:1-16.

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”

even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.”

Psalm 139 reveals that God knows everything about us. We are exposed before God, completely vulnerable. Note, knowing that God knows everything about David does not lead him to despair, but to peace. To be known by God as a Christian brings comfort because God knows everything about you and still loves you. There is nothing that can separate you from him. David reminds you and me that even when our lives are exposed before others, it is already known to God, and he will never see you differently in Christ. In other words, knowing that God sees you and loves you, filters our thinking so that we are not distraught when others know our lives.

If you are in a season of vulnerability, offer this prayer to the Lord: 

Father, you know my thoughts and actions. There is nothing in my life hidden from you. I am always vulnerable before you. Lead me to embrace it. Comfort me with your words that wherever I go, you are there—whatever I have done you know—yet you love me. My acceptance before you is not conditioned on my perfection but Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Amen.

 Prayer Points

Consider praying using the prompts in the “The World” section of the prayer points found here.