weakness

weakness. 

the biblical concept of weakness does not mean the things we’re not good at. We’re tempted to think this way. it would be easier if weakness were contained to the things we stink at doing. but it’s much more pervasive than that. We can’t simply tip-toe around it.

weakness is everywhere in the New Testament-- Mark 14:38, Acts 20:35, 1 Corinthians 1:26-27, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:26, Romans 14:1-4, 1 Corinthians 12:9-10. in all of these verses, the general theme of being deficient in something is what it all comes back to. the broad definition would be that weakness is usually associated with something we are lacking. weakness means that we are in desperate need of God and all that He has to offer us. 

embrace your weakness, don't despise it. 

when we embrace weakness, we have looked into our own lives enough to know that we don't have it all together and that we need God so very badly.

1. embracing weakness means you value spiritual gifts. 

     everyone has different spiritual gifts and experience them in different ways. when we see others gifts and the victory of Christ in those gifts, we start to see others differently and we become more grateful than critical. our weakness is someone else's strength, and once we recognize that it's okay to have a weakness in an area, we can celebrate when it's someone else's strength. Jesus died for that gift, and for someone to have it, and be built up in that gift. 

2. embracing weakness gives us peace and vigor in our relationship with God. 

     Vigor is the idea of our outward-facing activity. It is our labor of the Lord. Peace is the thing in the deep recesses of our souls. It’s the character of our silent prayers. when embracing a weakness, it brings that vigor because it means we realize that what we do, is all God's power, not ours. we find peace in embracing a weakness because it's that realization that God doesn't love us because we are strong, but because of grace. our joy doesn't rest on our ability to do, or not do something. God's joy and love for us, does not rest on our strengths alone. (2 Timothy 1:9) 

3. embracing weakness maximizes our fruitfulness. 

     when we focus on ourselves, we make a ceiling for the potential that God has for us. we create our dreams according to what we think we are capable of-- not what God is capable of. when we embrace our weakness' we have the understanding that any work in our lives, is done in God's power, and since we know that, we can dream as big as possible. we aren't going to think back on a dream and think that a dream to glorify God was too big. with having a God so good, and so strong, we need to ask ourselves, what we are asking of Him. are we asking Him to give us a big dream that isn't going to glorify Him? how about a small dream that will glorify Him, but that could be made into a bigger dream if we let it? when we know where we stand with our weakness' we can dream big, and become fruitful in our strengths. 

weakness' shouldn't be something that we dwell upon and that hinder us from glorifying God. God's power is made perfect in our weakness'. God doesn't delight in our suffering and weakness. those things are there for our good and will be used for good if we allow them to be. God’s purpose over and through Satan’s harassment is our humility. Paul was in danger of pride and self-exaltation and God took steps to keep him humble. This is an utterly strange thing in our self-saturated age. God thinks humility is more important than comfort. Humility is more important than freedom from pain. He will give us a mountaintop experience in paradise, and then bring us through the anguish of soul lest we think that we have risen above the need for total reliance on his grace. So his purpose is our humility and lowliness and reliance on him (2 Corinthians 1:9; 4:7).

let God, be God. give him that weakness let him make it a strength. lift up others whose strengths are your weakness'. if God's will is to show His power through our weakness, then who are we to stop Him. The ultimate purpose of God in our weakness is to glorify the kind of power that moved Christ to the cross and kept him there until the work of love was done. 

weakness isn't something to run from, but to run to. it is something praiseworthy, something to be humbled by. weakness' are not here to make you feel less or degraded, but to create a new outlook on life, to be humbled, to be fruitful, to raise others up, and to glorify God. what was once a weakness can become a strength if you allow God to step in. 

God is building our lives. That is the meaning of weakness, insults, hardships, persecution, and calamity.