Weekly Devotional #008

The Wonder Found In Our Weakness

The thought of embracing or confessing our weakness makes a lot of us uncomfortable. Revealing the part(s) of ourselves that expose our humanity seems like a daunting task; the reason so many people put wear masks everyday to cover up their character imperfections and blemishes. It seems like we’ve mastered disguising our weakness as anything but weakness.

However, the Bible is clear about its position on weakness. It’s a position counter to our fleshly desires to “have it all together”. Paul writes:

“…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

Hol’ up, Hol’ up, Paul - you mean to tell me us you delight in weakness? That you boast about it? Man, you trippin’, bro! When I first read this verse years ago, part of my worldview became undone, and I was left to confront my idea of what it meant to be a “strong” Believer.

Not too long after this faith shattering moment, the Lord began to reveal to me that my weakness - our weakness - is a tool He uses to draw us nearer to Him! Our pain, shortcomings, our doubts - yes, even our fears - are tools God uses to draw/invite the Believer nearer to Him. They, within context, serve as loving acts of grace.

Paul’s thorns didn’t drive him to pursue self sufficiency; they caused him to run toward the Lord and plead with Him to remove them. We should follow Paul’s example, running desperately to the Lord when our weakness tries to get the best of us.

Why? Because God says, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9) That’s the beauty of being weak before the Lord; that’s the hope we share together as Believers.

Love y'all,
Sheim