There’s
a lot to say about weakness, especially in a society where it is
emphasized. We don’t want anyone to look
at our weaknesses because we see them as ugly, and we want to be accepted. We get told not to look at other people’s
weaknesses because we need to be accepting.
We need to look past the weakness to see who they really are underneath, and we don’t for one second pause to think
that maybe that same weakness that we are hiding and locking in the cupboard or
sweeping under the bed is part of what makes us who we are part of why we do
what we do.
Our
weaknesses are important.
If
you look at Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, he talks about his weaknesses. In fact, he loves them. He says that power is perfected in weakness,
so he rejoices in it! He says that he
will boast in weakness and is “well contented” with it, “for when I am weak,
then I am strong.”
Now
let’s take a minute, because what I think you just read is “despite my
weakness, I can still be strong.” Or
maybe you read “I am weak, but there’s time and I can still learn from it and
be strong.” These are things that you
tell yourself, or maybe you even let others tell you, but that’s not what Paul
is saying. The difference between what you
read and what Paul is saying is that Paul is telling you what God told him and
that is because of my weakness, God
gives me His strength, so I am strong.
Not in spite of your weakness, because it’s not like your weakness is
something God didn’t know about and now has to work around. Remember that He is your Creator, so He knows
how you work and how you need to work to fulfill His purpose for you. Where you are empty because of a weakness or
deficiency that you have, God pours in His strength, which is more than any
strength we could’ve already been programmed with, because God perfects His strength in our weakness. He told us that His grace is sufficient for
us, so when we are weak and broken and we don’t have what it takes, we only
need to lean on Him because He is strong, He is not broken and can even fix us,
and He always has what it takes.
Our
weaknesses can actually become our
strengths. Not because God takes them
away or helps us to overcome them (although God does help us to overcome
things, I just don’t think He would want us to “overcome” something that He
specifically programmed us to have), but because He teaches us how to use
them. In our weaknesses, God perfects His strength. Through
our weaknesses, we become more like Him.
I’ll say it again. Through our weaknesses, we become more like
Him. God gave us these weaknesses
that we have for a reason. When we
accept that we have them and that they are a part of us, and when we give the
weaknesses and ourselves to God, then He can work. When we acknowledge that we cannot do something
ourselves and we let God step in, that’s when things actually start to happen,
and it’s so much better than if we had tried to do it ourselves because God’s
strength is stronger. When we are weak,
then we are strong.
Paul
actually even takes it one step further than that, because he’s not just talking
about loving our weaknesses, but he actually says that we should be “contented
with” insults, distresses, persecutions,
and difficulties that come our way because
of our weaknesses. These are part of
what God uses to refine His strength in us.
These are some of the trials that we hear about in James 1 that we are
told to consider pure joy, because
they are testing our faith and making us stronger. I know that the new thing these days is to
call everyone who looks at you wrong a bully and to run crying and throw a fit
until someone “accepts you,” but as believers we should be thanking the people who insult us, cause us distress, and even
those who actually persecute us. We
should be happy when we are faced with our own weaknesses, and even when they
are pointed out by others. We don’t need
to look for shallow acceptance from those around us, because the One who
created us knows us better than any of those people ever could and loves us
with an unconditional, everlasting love.
And He not only can see us as we are, but He can see who we can and will
become in Him through His strength, which He will use to shape and mold us by
using those exact weaknesses that the people were giving us crap about.
When
we deny or ignore our weaknesses, or when we pass them off as just something
that we are and determine to do nothing about it, we are denying God the
opportunity to perfect His strength in us.
We are taking the reins in our own hands and using our own human
strength, or lack thereof, to take us through life, which is why we will
fail. Our strength is not, and can never
be enough. It’s important to know our
weaknesses and recognize them for what they are so we can give them over to
God. The cracks and holes that are our
weaknesses create openings through which God can fill us with His
strength. If we try to patch them
ourselves, not only will it look sloppy and not hold, but there will be nowhere
for God to pour in His strength, and He’s not one to force it.
Only
when we accept that we are weak can we accept God’s strength.
When
we are weak, then we are strong.
What’s
your weakness?
