Finding Strength in Weakness
It’s Ok to Feel Weak If….
It’s bad enough when I fail; it’s worse when I feel weak.
God Says We Can Be Strong
There is plenty of encouragement in the Bible to be strong and bold. When Joshua was getting ready to lead Israel across the Jordan into the Promise Land, God told him several times to “Be strong and courageous…” (Joshua 1:6–10)
Ephesians 6:10 tells us to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
In Acts 4, the early church prayed and asked God for boldness to preach the Gospel of Jesus despite persecution.
No doubt about it, God wants to strengthen us when we’re tired and give us power when we feel exhausted. (Isaiah 40:28–31)
God Designed Weakness
But in Scripture you will notice there are “divine tensions” on just about every major truth.
We are given eternal life as a gift, not from our works, received purely by faith in Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8–9)
But we are also encouraged to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling because God is at work in you.” (Philippians 2:11–12)
Psalm 8 tells us God surrounds us with favor as a shield, but Jesus said if we follow Him people will hate us and persecute us (Luke 14).
In our journey with God, though God strengthens us and gives us boldness, there is also God designed weakness that He doesn’t take away.
Paul wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 (and other places), “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Our Weakness Can Give Place to Christ’s Power
Let’s quickly break down what Paul wrote:
- God’s power is made “perfect/complete” in our weakness. God doesn’t need you to always be strong to work powerfully through you. Weakness helps us depend more on God.
- God’s power can actually rest on us, remain on us when we feel weak or are experiencing challenging, uncontrollable circumstances.
- All kinds of “negative” circumstances like feeling weak, getting insulted, hardships of various kinds, persecutions and calamities can actually allow us to experience real strength, strength beyond us, God’s strength.
So if you’re going through one of those seasons, and EVERYONE goes through them at some point. Let your heart be encouraged, this is when God loves to step in and do what only He can do.
When you’re feeling strong, awesome! Enjoy it!
If you’re going through a season of some type of weakness, take Paul’s words to heart and even “be content with weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon” YOU!
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