Weakness is such a negative word with such an ugly connotation in our world today. Weaknesses seem to be associated with inability and shortcomings. We view, and definitely rightly so at times, weakness as the crack in the door that Satan uses to plant his home firmly in our hearts. Weaknesses are bad. They are unspoken of, and they are unwanted. I mean, who really wants to be weak?
This negative view of our weaknesses is not something that I am above. I hate admitting when I am weak, and all to often pretend that I am strong in each and every situation. I live this way, full of pride, and false pride at that, but the Bible tells us such a different story. Does anyone else out there read the Bible the way they want to read it? You know what I mean. You underline all the right verses and know the staple scriptures by heart, but you skip the part about actually applying them to your life. Well, I, for one, am guilty of that. One of my favorite verses, and also one of the most challenging to me, is one that I rarely live out in my life.
I think Paul's view of weaknesses is so refreshingly different from my own, and yet so hard to live out. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is speaking of the many trials that he has faced as a follower of Jesus. He tells of the times he was beaten, put in prison, even shipwrecked. I love how he ends this chapter. After rehashing all the horrible experiences he had to endure (which I have to confess always kind of sounds like borderline boasting to me. Ok I feel better getting that off my chest ;) he writes verse 30. If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. After reading that verse, I have to ask myself how many times I willingly seek to show others the weakness in my life. I'm ashamed to say that I'm usually way too concerned with what others think of me to open myself up to sharing the ugliness in my life. Challenging stuff for sure, but Paul wasn't done here.
Paul goes on to discuss the thorn in his flesh, and I absolutely love the response that God gave to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9. My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. Man, that is good stuff. This is definitely a theme verse for my life. God's grace is so much bigger than any sin or any failure in my life. In this verse, I almost can picture God just sitting by waiting to swoop in and cover us with his grace. He's ready to show his awesome power, and most times that comes through our failures and our weaknesses. Paul gets that, and I think that is evident from the next few verses. Paul chooses to embrace his weaknesses so that Christ's power can be shown in his life. He even goes as far to say that he delights and takes pleasure (NLT) in those weak areas of his life because he knows that only when he admits how weak he is will God show up and make him strong again.
I need to be reminded of this on a daily basis. I need to be reminded that God calls me to lay down my pride, so that his name can be glorified instead of my own. I need to remember that in order to truly let God reign in my life, I have to die to myself...all of myself...every day. I need to remember that the more I recognize that I am nothing with him, the more God is ready to make me something with him. God's word is so full of paradoxes, and this is just another one. The world tells us to be strong, yet God reminds us that boldly sharing our weaknesses brings us far more strength than we could ever imagine. I'm thankful for his word, and the way it convicts me. I'm thankful for people who teach me to readily share my weaknesses, and then love me even more after seeing them.
It's been awhile since I've included some song lyrics on here. I've recently become obsessed with the group Leeland. They've got some powerful lyrics, and I am in love with the song "Carried to the Table." They say it better than I could ever say it.
Fighting thoughts of fear and wondering why He called my name
Am I good enough to share this cup; this world has left me lame
Even in my weakness, the Savior called my name
In His Holy presence, I’m healed and unashamed
God wants us right where we are. He is more powerful than we could ever imagine, and he can use our failures, our sins, and our weaknesses in mighty ways. I pray for a heart that can truly be unashamed of my weaknesses because I'm so in awe of the ways that God is using them to show his power.
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"You underline all the right verses and know the staple scriptures by heart, but you skip the part about actually applying them to your life. Well, I, for one, am guilty of that." The reason we all are guilty of not applying them to our lives, is that we can't follow His will in our own strength either, but only by His power, so even in that we are weak within ourselves. Wondering if Paul's thorn in the flesh represents his own will power, and that we all have that also? Just a thought.
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