Take Pleasure in Weakness
Spiritually Speaking, Embracing Weakness is the Path to Strength
I don't know about you, but I don't take pleasure in weakness. I want to be strong, healthy, and vibrant! I want to be someone who is admired for having it all together and being able to accomplish a lot.
Perhaps that is one reason God has seen fit to allow me a life filled with chronic pain. Outwardly I look normal and most people would never suspect that some days it is difficult for me to focus because of the pain I'm in.
I could wallow in my circumstances and wonder why God doesn't heal me. And in fact, I've done that on more than one occasion and still do it at times. But instead, today I choose to say, "God, Your grace is sufficient for me. I thank You, Father, that my strength is being perfected in weakness." When I do that, an amazing thing happens -- His strength is indeed perfected in my weakness, and I'm able to do things I could never do on my own.
As reluctant as I am to rejoice in my weaknesses, I can rejoice when I consider that my weaknesses cause me to depend more on God. When I'm utterly weak, broken, and clueless, I have no other choice, really, than to run to God for help. In those kinds of situations, I have to depend completely on Him if I want to accomplish whatever needs to be done.
Coming to terms with the fact that in and of ourselves, we are weak, and can't do anything is one of the most important steps to being used by God.
Weakness is not valued in our society. But from a spiritual perspective, embracing weakness goes a long way in allowing God's amazing, abundant, and unlimited power to be manifested through us.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather run the race set before me in God's strength, rather than my own. After all, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13) and I can do absolutely nothing apart from Him (John 15:5).
Published by Rebecca Livermore - Featured Contributor in Travel and Lifestyle
Rebecca Livermore has been a freelance writer since 1993. Although she started off writing for print magazines, in recent years she has switched her focus to writing for the web. She writes on many subjects,... View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentWonderful article. Thank you.
Good devotional. This has always been one of my favorite passages in the Bible.
Wonderfully stated....excellent article Rebecca.
It's good to see you're back, Rebecca. Great article!
Sounds like your "weakness" contributes to your emotional strength?
This ministered to me, Rebecca! It's not only well-written but also needs to be said. I could relate!
We do take so many things for granted, don't we? It seems like only when we are in trials, like chronic pain, that we are keenly aware of how much God has blessed us. He is so faithful to give the strength we need both physically and spiritually. Thanks for sharing Rebecca!