Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Strength in Weakness

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

What is true strength?  We are taught to always be a symbol of strength to others.  This is something I believe in, but as I’ve grown, showing strength is so much more than just being strong.  My success as a husband did not come from always being wonderful to my wife.  In my younger years, I would complain too much.  There were times I felt she was not sensitive enough, and other times where she did not do enough.  However, those were not her faults.  They were mine.  I was the one who did not love her and appreciate her enough.  I expected her to fix our failings in the relationship rather than look at the mirror and deal with my own.  In accepting my own weakness as a husband, it allowed God to be the strength of our marriage.  It made me better to her and more accepting.  It gave me not only forgiveness for my flaws but also inspiration to do better.  To be better.  The most amazing thing about it is my story, while unique, led me to the same place other Christians found themselves; saved and loved by Jesus Christ.

God shows His greatest strength through our greatest weaknesses.  We often feel that we must show our strength to others so as to lead them to a better place.  While it is true that we are to live our lives as examples of Christ, it is important that we also share where we are indeed flawed.  The vision Paul shared in 2nd Corinthians spoke to this very point.  What brings others to God is not how perfect we may seem.  What brings them is realizing just how imperfect we are.  Our flaws are not so dissimilar from those who are lost souls.  However, our difference is that we have been born again through Christ, and He has shown us a different path.  It is a path that we not only proudly follow but also show to others.  A man struggling in his marriage and contemplating divorce is someone God may connect with me where I can say, “Hey.  I know where you are, and I have been there!”  Then God’s light can be revealed to them.


God’s glory is best revealed when He is allowed to shine above all.  There is no better way for it to be revealed than in our own story of weakness.  Romans 8:26 says, “The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”  Even when our prayers may be weak, God intercedes to ensure they are heard.  So let us focus not just on being the face of God’s strength.  Show others the flawed image of yourself because lost souls do not follow a God they don’t know.  They follow someone who understands them and can be used by God to help them see a righteous path.  How can you reveal your weakness to show God’s strength?  My prayer is that we are able to show true strength through own weakness.  Amen.

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