November 2020
a publication of Lakeside Lutheran High School Volume 10: Issue 3
LLHS FED eration CONnection
920-648-2321 • info@llhs.org • 231 Woodland Beach Rd. Lake Mills, WI 53551
thankful for weakness? Thanksgiving is approaching. It’s a time to give thanks.
Often, we are thankful for tangible items: food, clothing, shelter, and the like. While it’s good to thank God for such things, there is something we often omit from our thankful list. Through the apostle Paul, God directs us to be thankful for suffering. It may seem odd to be thankful for suffering. After all, being thankful for pain, emotional trauma, disease, and persecution is contrary to human nature. No one wants to suffer. We shy away from it. But, in doing so, we miss God’s valuable lesson. Everyone will suffer because we live in a sinful world. Disease, spiritual suffering, and temptation are our daily companions. Mental illness may break the minds of some. Sadly, our children and grandchildren will also face suffering. Then, there is death. We may live only to see our loved ones die. Then, one day, we, too, will face death. No one is immune.
But God is also serious about supporting us when we suffer. Through his Word, Christ reminds us that when we become weak, he becomes strong in us. Thinking of it this way, we can truly thank God for our suffering. Have a blessed Thanksgiving! Jim Grasby is principal of Lakeside Lutheran. Reach him at 920.648.2321 or jgrasby@llhs.org
In spite of this, Paul writes, “We glory in our sufferings” (Romans 5:3). While many may see madness in his words, he understood suffering to be a time when God turns evil into good. Just as God turned the cross’s shame and pain into salvation for all believers, Paul saw how God could change suffering to good. In Corinthians, Paul speaks of “a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” (2 Corinthians 12:7). We don’t know his exact meaning. “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away” (2 Corinthians 12:8). God said no each time. He told Paul,“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul didn’t despair or moan. He simply resolves, “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” (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10). Paul then closes, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). He knew the source of his strength. In weakness, he learned to lean on Jesus. Suffering is serious. Sin’s effects are not a laughing matter.
Save the date!
Giving Tuesday– December 1
New student seating for Art classes —such treasured electives at Lakeside— is the focus for #GivingTuesday 2020
Will you help us reach $12,000 needed for six 4-person drawing station tables and 24 pottery stools for the art room? Say yes and help us spread the word by encouraging other art appreciators to participate! Visit llhs.org, follow yourllhs on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about this opportunity and how to partner with us.