2 Corinthians 12:9-10
New International Version (NIV)
9 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. 10 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.
Day Eleven
Strength through Weakness
We all have times in our lives when it seems that we cannot keep going on. You know those times when life just beats us down and we feel like we just can’t get back up. Those are the times that we feel weak, vulnerable, and ready to throw in the towel.
It is during these times that we view life as an oppressor, forcing us to carry unjust burdens upon our slacking shoulders. We pray, hope, and wish for a moment of peace or a second of solace, however too many times we find neither and we are force to continue on weary and weak.
The world defines weakness as a lack of strength or determination. The dictionary also defines weakness as a character flaw or a feature of somebody’s character regarded as unfavorable. With these definitions it is no wonder why we feel so defeated when we feel weak. However, what if we changed the definition of weakness and replaced it with the one for strength? The dictionary defines strength as emotional toughness, source of support, and as a resistance (the ability to withstand force, pressure, and stress). The dictionary also defines strength as a valuable or useful ability, asset, or quality. What if we took these definitions and applied them to weakness?
By switching the definitions we take all the power away from the enemy. Again we know that enemy is powerless, but he is a great deceiver. So in our weakness the enemy deceives us into thinking that by being weak we are worthless. He destroys our mentality making us depressed, angry, and/or suicidal. However, when we define weakness as a valuable or useful ability, asset, or quality for a person to have then turned things around, we have taken a word meant to destroy and made it a word that empowers.
Okay I can hear you saying, “It’s all good to change the word’s definition in our minds, but in reality being weak is still a bad thing.”
I will agree with you by saying that it is a bad thing by the world’s terms, however we as Christians are not of the world but we are of the Word. And the Word tells us that our weakness is strength!
In our scripture the Apostle Paul speaks of this very thing. He says that God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” So God is telling us that it is okay to be weak because that is when I am powerful. Paul then goes on to tell us to boast about our weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest on us. We should be happy that we are weak because it is during our weakest moments that the power of Christ comes out of us helping us to carry through. We should know that, whether we believe it or not, without this power none of us would be able to make it, for the Word says that He is righteous to both the just and the unjust. So it is through His power that every one of us is able to endure.
Look at the last sentence in this scripture. Paul says that for Christ’s sake, he delights in weakness, in insults, in hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. For when he is weak, he is strong. Think about how powerful that is, when we are weak not only is HE, God, strong but we also are strong because God’s power shines through us. This is what Isaiah 40:29 means when it says; He will give strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. The bible tells us that our weakness is our greatest strength.
We are to rejoice next time when we are feeling weak, either physically or emotionally, because the power of God is about to shine through our lives. The enemy may throw all types of roadblocks in front of us during our journey. Nonetheless we will continue to praise God because we know that whenever we are weak, then we are Strong.
Please continue to join us on our journey tomorrow. Until then God Bless,
James Anthony Love
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