And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
As Christians, we sometimes make the mistake of magnifying our weaknesses above our strengths. Entertaining such thoughts is dangerous, and this has made many people draw erroneous conclusions. For instance, we see in the Scriptures that Simon Peter returned to fishing after the crucifixion of Jesus. Perhaps, he had concluded that ministry days were over, and it was safe to return to his old occupation. In the same way, we may have doubts about our abilities to succeed in our family life, finances, spiritual development, education, and in other areas. However, Scripture tells us otherwise, and this episode in Apostle Paul’s life illustrates how God can do amazing things despite our weaknesses and limitations.
Many of us wrongly believe that God cannot use imperfect people, and so we shy away from taking our place in His Kingdom/ scheme of things. Despite whatever defined the thorn in the flesh that Apostle Paul spoke about, he experienced a remarkably abundant measure of God’s grace and strength.
In reality, we all have physical and emotional weaknesses at different points. When we go through challenging circumstances in our lives, dwelling on our limitations instead of focusing on God will make us conclude that the strength necessary to thrive has eluded us. In such instances, may God help us to see Him as bigger than our negative experiences, and to confess these words like Paul: ‘”when I am weak, then I am strong”. You see, God’s strength works best and is magnified, when we have come to the end of our human efforts. In fact, God specialises in revealing His strength through our weaknesses. Once we understand this truth, it becomes easier to live our lives from a standpoint of divine strength.
To trade your weakness for God’s strength, take note of these three things-
- Acknowledge your weaknesses before God. There is nothing noble about pretending before God. Tell Him your struggles, and resist the desire to put on a show before God, because it is self-deceit for us to try to be what we are not. Instead, tell God of your inadequacies and frustrations. Then confess your total dependency on Him. For God is looking for vessels who recognise their limitations, and acknowledge His immeasurable strength. See the stories of Biblical characters for whom God turned weaknesses into strength- Moses (Exodus 4), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1), Gideon (Judges 6), Tamar, Rahab and Ruth (Matthew1 : 3- 16).
- Focus on God’s strength and not on your weakness (Psalms 16: 8).
- Draw strength from God. Ephesians 6:10 (AMP) reads: In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. (1Samuel 30: 6).