Weakness

August 24

Job 30-31

Psalm 96:1-6

Proverbs 21:5-6

2 Corinthians 12

Weakness

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We don’t like to think about our weaknesses. We all have them; areas in our lives where we know we struggle. Those are the areas we like to keep hidden from other people, from God and even from ourselves. We don’t talk about them and hope no one will notice them. The funny thing is that often these are the areas God wants to use to bring Himself glory. He wants to bring them to light so that He can shine through them. If a clay pot has a crack in it and you put a light down in it, you can’t see the light through the perfect part of the clay, but you can see the light peeking out through the crack. He can make even the ugly parts of our lives beautiful when we allow His glory to shine through them. Our weaknesses produce humility in us which is always pleasing to God. Our strengths tend to create pride and it is very difficult for God to work through our pride. Weaknesses also produce the recognition that we need God’s help. We know in those areas we cannot succeed without Him, and we are drawn to Him. In the things we perceive as our strengths, we aren’t as likely to turn to Him for help. We tend to think we can handle this on our own and we save Him for when we need Him.

We also have the idea that Satan uses our weaknesses to tempt us, but then he surprises us and uses the areas of our greatest strength to cause our greatest failures. Because we are not relying fully on God in those areas, Satan sees that as an opportunity to intervene. In our weaknesses, God’s presence provides our strength and protection. Paul says that he takes pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and pressures because of Christ. I can’t say that I take pleasure in those things, but I can see that they are beneficial in bringing glory to God. It is easier to see that after the fact than during the struggle. Instead of attempting to hide my weaknesses, I need to acknowledge them and ask God to use them in whatever way He can. And I need to be cautious in the areas where I think I am strong not to become prideful and fail to seek His help. There is no area of my life where I don’t need His constant help and guidance.