Power In Weakness

When it comes to weaknesses and struggles, most people don’t typically view them as a source of pleasure or something worth celebrating. Many of us cringe at the thought of telling others about them. Why?

There are many reasons, but here are a few:

• Our weaknesses leave us feeling broken, ashamed, embarrassed, and discouraged.

• Someone broke our trust by disclosing personal information without our permission.

• People ridiculed and ostracized us (or someone else) for having a weakness or struggling.

• Our weakness was treated as insignificant and “no big deal”.

• Someone used the information to extort something from us.

• We dislike feeling weak and having to rely on others.

• Our culture celebrates and rewards personal strength – not weakness.

If you identify with any of those reasons, please know you’re not alone. We all experience one or more of these scenarios at some point in life. It’s an unfortunate part of living in a fallen world with people who are imperfect just like we are.

However, for those of us who are followers of Jesus, we know that our weaknesses don’t define who we are in God’s eyes. In fact, His perspective on weakness is so different and unique that it qualifies as “breaking news” worthy of everyone’s attention.

In Paul’s second letter to Christians living in Corinth, he wrote about a personal weakness that caused him significant pain. This part of Paul’s letter helps us reframe how we think about weaknesses. Although he doesn’t go into specifics about the nature of his weakness, Paul openly shared how it compelled him to repeatedly ask God to take it away. He also wrote about the blessings contained in the weakness.

Paul’s testimony reminds us that followers of Jesus have weaknesses too. Regardless of how long we’ve had a personal relationship with Him, how much we love Him, and the myriad of amazing ways He chooses to work through us, there will be times when the Lord sovereignly places us in circumstances and positions where we come face to face with our human limitations. Why does He do that?

Paul provides us with two reasons.

First, humbling circumstances help protect us from sinful pride. Our weaknesses and struggles are vivid reminders that God is the source for everything we need and have. They also remind us He’s the One who deserves all the glory. Without these reminders, our flesh eventually leads us to believe we deserve some of that credit.

Second, our weaknesses serve as the perfect stage for Christ to shower us with His grace and showcase His power. We’ve all been in circumstances that brought us to the end of our ourselves. Our talents and strengths were useless. Every idea we tried was ineffective, and in some cases, made the situation worse! It was during those times that we acknowledged our weakness and cried out to God for relief just like Paul did. But rather than remove the source of our pain, the Lord also gave us His grace and exercised His power to generate results that our human efforts could never have accomplished!

May God use this artwork to help you and those in your sphere of influence view weakness from HIs perspective. May the blessings of humility and God’s grace motivate us to praise and thank Him for our weaknesses. And may these blessings encourage us to boast about our weaknesses so that Christ can display His power through us to advance His kingdom on earth.

For His glory,
The Heart Inspirations Team

2 Corinthians 12:8-10
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. (New Living Translation)