Vulnerable and Victorious...

Vulnerable...it's a word that describes an experience that many of us shy away from.  To be vulnerable is to be open; completely unveiled, uncovered and unmasked.  Mirriam-Webster defines the word: capable of being physically or emotionally wounded; open to attack or damage.
And we fear it...
We fear it because we don't want to be hurt, we don't want to be embarrassed, we don't want to let down our guard and give ANYONE the opportunity to bother or wound us.
But it is in this place where the most healing and breakthrough is experienced.  It is in this place where we can experience some of the most amazing moments in our lives.  And this is where God wants us.
There was a woman in Matthew 15:22-28 who desperately wanted healing for her daughter who was "vexed by a devil".  She ran to Jesus and entreated him to heal her daughter.  Jesus' disciples urged him to send her away and Jesus, himself, tried to explain to her that he had other responsibilities to tend to.  Yet she continued to press until Jesus acknowledged her faith and gave her the word she needed.  There was another woman in Mark 5:25-34 who pressed through a crowd just to touch the bottom hem of Jesus' clothes.  This woman had an "issue of blood".  She was weak, had spent all the money she had to find a cure for her illness and was, in society's eyes, unclean.  Yet again, there was a man in Mark 10:47-48 who, blind, sat begging at the roadside.  "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.  And many charged him that he should hold his peace; but he cried the more a great deal..."
All three of these individuals had something in common.  They were all vulnerable.  They were in positions in their lives where they literally had nothing else to lose.  And so, brought to their lowest point by their circumstances, they pushed, they pressed, they cried out for help.  Despite other's criticism and annoyance of and with their actions, they allowed themselves to be open and laid bare to ask for and receive the help, healing, and deliverance they desperately needed.
Now go back just a moment and read the final sentence of each of these passages.  In each example Jesus comments that each person's faith is what made them whole.
Think for a moment.  If one woman hadn't struggled through the crowd, weak from bleeding, if another woman hadn't insisted that Jesus hear her, if the blind man hadn't cried out despite the insistence of others to "hold his peace", they wouldn't have received what they needed.  If any of them had allowed fear to keep them quiet, immobile, or complacent, they would have died in their misery.
In order to receive the deliverance they needed, they had to be vulnerable; in a place where they could have been further damaged (emotionally or physically).  There could be no pride, no hesitation, no reluctance.  And therefore, no fear.
Fear is the complete opposite of faith.  Fear says "what if it doesn't happen?", "what if God doesn't come through?", "what if I am alone, sick, unsuccessful, etc, for the rest of my life?".  Faith says "I know fill in the blank will happen and if fill in the blank doesn't happen, I know there is a better plan".  "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end".  Faith believes that statement with no reservations, not a moment to pause and think about it, not an inkling of doubt.  Faith is complete vulnerability...
It's hard.  I know.  Please believe that i'm writing this to you but also to myself.  Lately, i've allowed myself to be vulnerable in certain situations with little to no payoff.  I've experience some things that have caused me to ask, out loud, 'what is happening?", "is the desire of my heart ever going to materialize?".  I've had moments of complete vulnerability where i've been angry, sad, tearful, hurt.  Thankfully, I have folks around me who see my vulnerability and will pray with and for me rather than write me off as crazy.  And even in the moments where I couldn't or didn't want to pray, i've realized this is where I need to be.  I need to be completely vulnerable in front of God (and in front of others) so that all the fears that I have could surface and be dealt with.  I've had to ask myself "do I really have faith in God?", "do I really believe he'll do what he said he would do?".
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the tale of Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:25-31).  Peter wanted to know if who he saw walking on the sea was really Jesus.  So he challenged Jesus to enable him to walk on the water.  Jesus said "come".  And Peter got out of the boat and began to walk.  But then Peter did something that we all do.  He began to look around at the waves and feel the stormy wind.  He looked at the physical conditions surrounding him and immediately he became afraid and started to sink.  And Jesus said "O thou of little faith, why did you doubt?".  I think this story is a perfect example of how vulnerability is our victory, but cannot exist in the presence of fear.  Peter put himself in a place of complete vulnerability.  A position that could have resulted in his death.  Yet he was successful. He was walking on the water.  Until he started looking at everything around him telling him that he couldn't do what he was already doing!  His vulnerability to Jesus was replaced by fear and then he started to sink.  But the point is, and the reason I love this story so much, is that he got out of the boat.  He was willing to be vulnerable, to risk his very life, to see if Jesus would really come through.
It's a fact that the people we love the most, we are most vulnerable to.  Your husband or wife, your mom or dad, your best friend.  The people we love the most see us at our most broken place.  Do you love God?  He gave us the life of his only child; Jesus at his most vulnerable place.  And he did it because he loved/loves us.
Today I challenge myself and all of you.  Get out of the boat!  Keep your eyes on Him.  Be willing to lay yourself bare in front of him, the one you love, physically and emotionally.  Don't allow the outside conditions to get you to close yourself off in fear.  GET OUT OF THE BOAT!!  Your vulnerability to the one you love will be your victory.