Beauty from Weakness

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We all have areas of weakness in our lives. They may be personal areas of weakness that we struggle with such as uncertainty, anger, fear, arrogance, greed, laziness, stubbornness, selfishness, or impatience. Or, it can be a situation that we have gone through that we allow to consume our life such as past hurts, family squabbles, disease, job loss or the death of a loved one.  We sometimes use these things as excuses for our behavior, or in contrast we cling to the mindset that we have to put on a strong front and never let others perceive us as weak. Both views are equally damaging and unbiblical.

When they become our excuses, our weaknesses become burdens that we carry around with us and pull out whenever we need an alibi: "You know how I am" or "What I have been through..." Instead of  wallowing in our weaknesses, Christ says we are to rejoice in them and to trust in Him, for our weaknesses are made perfect in His strength. Our weaknesses are blessings; they show us our need for complete dependence on God. When we try to make it on our own we will always fail, but He takes the most wretched things in our lives and makes them into something beautiful.

On the other hand, we can take on the mantras, "You've Got To Be Strong" or "Never Let Them See You Sweat." We act like we have it all together, nothing can get to us, we can handle whatever life throws our way. This is detrimental to our Christian walk and witness. We must realize that it is never by our own strength that we can bring about change, healing, growth... It is only through complete surrender and utter dependence on Christ alone!

"Unless the Lord builds the house,They labor in vain who build it..."Psalm 127:1

As Christians we are to share our weaknesses, to be open and vulnerable with one another, to be truthful, and we are also called to hold one another accountable. Strength and power are not virtues to be lauded, but rather it is a  life of complete surrender and humility that is to be praised.

"Blessed is weakness, for it draws to itself the strength of God!... The best thoughts, the richest life lessons, the sweetest songs that have come down to us from the past—have not come from lives that have known no privation, no adversity—but are the fruits of pain, of weakness, of trial. Men have cried out for emancipation from the bondage of hardship, of sickness, of infirmity, of self-denying necessity; not knowing that the thing which seemed to be hindering them in their career—was the very making of whatever was noble, beautiful, and blessed in their life." ~J. R. Miller

"Real true faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength."- Dwight L. Moody