But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV
Power in weakness. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? None of us want to be regarded as weak in any area, yet all of us are weak in some area (or many areas). If you’re anything like me, you don’t necessarily want others to notice or find out about your weaknesses. It’s embarrassing. It might make us appear incapable. It makes us vulnerable. It exposes our imperfections. I mean, if they find out, they’ll no longer think we’re perfect, right? But, do we really believe anyone thought us to be perfect in the first place?
A weakness is an area of vulnerability in which we may easily succumb, such as anger, fear, feelings of inadequacy, unforgiveness or even addiction. At times, we may feel we’ll never overcome it. While there is the possibility of not overcoming the vulnerability to it, according to scripture, we have the ability to overcome yielding to it through the power of Christ. For He tells us that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. If we need Him to strengthen us, that means we have areas of weakness.
Numerous examples in scripture indicate weaknesses in some of the most well-known characters of the bible: Moses, David, Peter, and the list goes on. Yet, these men accomplished great things. What was their secret? They didn’t allow a weakness or vulnerability to write the end of their story and have the last say, and neither should we! God is intentional in everything He does. I believe He gave these examples so that we might have hope and learn that although we aren’t exempt from weaknesses, those weaknesses don’t have the authority to disqualify us unless we allow them to.
Power in weakness, you say? Where does the power part come in? When we wait eagerly upon the Lord. God can do His greatest work in us and through us when we become desperate for Him, place our hope in Him, humble ourselves and lay our weaknesses at the cross. When we can admit we don’t have it all together, it relocates us from a place of self-reliance to a position of God-reliance. It moves “us” out of the way, permitting Him to emPOWER us even in the areas of our greatest weakness. One of my biggest struggles is that of inadequacy. As I’ve shared before in previous blogs, I am a singer/worship leader. There have been times where I felt I wasn’t as good as the other person. Sometimes to the point where when it came my turn to lead, I would shake and fear that my voice wouldn’t be good enough, that I might not hit all the right notes or remember all the words. At times, it became reality. Those experiences were humbling, but I’m so glad I had them. They gave me the opportunity to stop and remember it’s not about me and caused me to place my trust in God. It was in those moments of such weakness that people were ministered to the most.
God is faithful. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says “’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Don’t be afraid to admit those areas of weakness, because that is where the power of Christ comes in.
I leave you with this final and very powerful passage of scripture as you go throughout your day. “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” (Hebrews 11:32-34) God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If He did all of that through them, He can do just as much through us!
Additional Scriptures
“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10, ESV
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10, ESV
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13, ESV
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