Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT
Lord, Holy Spirit, Jesus please be with us as we go through this reading. May the process of surrender begin by your power. Help us receive your mercy and grace and let it turn into self-compassion and compassion for others.
Boy do I know one or two things about weakness. To start with, I am 5’2” (160cm) so I am the epitome of weakness.
On a serious note, we are all weak in some capacity and I am here to tell you God resides in the weak. A perfect illustration of this is the beatitudes, where each category speaks to a weakness of some sort. Whether in persecution or in how the world perceives you because you are “meek” or “peaceful”. God wants to meet you in your weakness, surrender it today. Alright, so let’s get into the scripture.
“EACH TIME”
Do you know how many times you have to ask God for something for Him to say it “each time”. Firstly let’s appreciate the patience of God for reiterating His message to us each time.
Paul, like us, was struggling through His faith. We know there was a “thorn” that bothered Him. It could have been lying, it could have been a physical limitation, or his mental health. However, what we know is that Paul was struggling, to further drive the point of struggling, catch this:
“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”
Romans 7:15-17 NLT
Paul perfectly describes what living on this earth is like for every Christian. We are weak. We give into impulses that we know are wrong even though our hearts do not want to give in. It comes with it!
For God to remind you each time that His grace is sufficient for you, you have to confide in Him each time you trip. Pay close attention to the fact that I said “trip” and not “fall”. For those in Christ are never lost nor do they fall, they trip and are picked up by our Good Shepherd. The only fallen being we know is Satan. Hate to be him.
If one of the most amazing, anointed leaders of our faith can speak on that they are weak and stumble and struggle in the faith, it is normal for us to struggle too. Mind you, I do not condone co-existing with sin, however my heart and spirit are with you if you are fighting the battles of the flesh. Each time you stumble and struggle, confide in Him each time so that His peace and mercy washes over you.
“GOD’S GRACE IS ALL YOU NEED”
In Aramaic grace is tayb’uwt’ah, this can mean devotion or extending kindness.
In English grace is smoothness and elegance of movement.
Now stay with me as we follow both these definitions. If you take the Aramaic definition, God is saying yes you are weak, yes you are struggling, yes you are a child of sin but I am devoted to you. I want to be kind to you, please let me. If the one who created you reaches out and tells you my love and devotion to you is enough! My dear, get up, we are free from guilt and shame!
If we then follow the English definition which is the Lord telling us although we are weak, we are making mistakes or we are not walking with Him enough. Your movement through life is guided by His grace, hear what I am saying! You are moving smoothly and elegantly through your life. God is making sure you move smoothly through your life! There are no mistakes not accounted for by our Lord, for He takes all things meant to discourage us and uses them to strengthen us.
MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS”
For God to be able to minister to other human beings, He uses human beings. For God to be able to show His power among human beings, He uses the lack of human beings.
This portion of the verse absolutely brings me tremendous joy because one thing I know about our nature is we will always fall short. I will not always be a good friend, a good partner, a good daughter or a good follower of Jesus.
The one constant thing about us is we are born of sin and will always fall short. God in His infinite wisdom chose the one thing about us that is constant and that seperates us from Him and took it so that His power is reflected.
When I say God’s power I do not mean His iron fist, I mean God is loving and kind, meaning His power is righteous and there is nothing to fear. God is not out to get you. The world is in such a funk at the moment and power has been used to abuse others, the power of God is used to redeem you.
The great thing is you will always be weak, so God will always redeem you by His power.
I implore you to allow yourself to be weak. Allow yourself in the sense of admitting and do not beat yourself for your lack. Surrender to the Holy Spirit so that through the power of God we can see the strongholds of weakness broken within us.
“BOAST ABOUT MY WEAKNESS”
The power of God’s grace is that it does not bring insecurity, but it brings confidence. Not confidence in all the nuances of our failures, but that we are intentionally made like this.
We have to realise that strength does not come from just being strong. It comes from weakness that was perfected by God.
“Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?””
Romans 15:1-2 MSG
So to those of us who have been made strong through the grace of God, let us seek out those weak in areas God has redeemed us from.
Openly talk about our struggles so you can free someone else. You no longer have a reason to be ashamed, you do not have to stand on a table and shout your weaknesses. However, when God presents you an opportunity to minister to others to free them from the crippling shame of their weakness, share a piece of yourself to free another.
Lastly, a little aid in perspective change is that God allows us to co-exist with weakness to combat pride and self-sufficiency. I guess on one end it might seem like a twisted way to help us but in a really beautiful way, God takes things that are meant to kill you and takes them to make you better. Weakness is an opportunity for God to move BIG!
Thank you for reading! I love you and we are all weak. It is not a you thing.
Recommended songs for weakness
Take Me To The King- Tamela Mann
The Same- Madison Ryan Ward
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