“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 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 12:8-9 NLT)
Weakness is something we tend to despise as human beings, especially when we’re young. We can tolerate a lot, but being seen as weak is not one of them. Unfortunately, that attitude often carries over into our relationship with the Lord. We want to be strong in faith, strong in our witness, strong in our service, strong in our worship, strong in our love for others, strong in our _____________, and you can fill in the blank.
We see strength as an asset, as an ally, as a necessity to being a child of God, but is it? On the other hand, we tend to view weakness as a detriment, something that will prevent us from being all we were meant to be. That seems to be Paul’s attitude as he begged God on three occasions to take away his physical issue, but God said no.
There’s a quote I read, and I’ve searched but can’t find who said it. It said something like: “If I lose or don’t have something, I must not need it to do what God has called me to do.” Obviously whatever Paul’s issue was, God believed he could do whatever He called him to do without it. It’s my conviction that when we lose something, rather than waste our time bemoaning what we’ve lost, we should focus on what we have left, because that’s what God has given us to do His will.
Elisabeth Elliot said: “The deepest things that I have learned in my own life have come from the deepest suffering. And out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires have come the deepest things that I know about God.” Loss is painful and often debilitating, but out of pain and loss can come a closeness to the Lord that can come in no other way.
Think of the Cross. Think of those who sneered at Jesus:“’He saved others,’ they scoffed, ‘but He can’t save Himself! Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe Him.’” They mistook strength for weakness. My experience has been the best position to listen to the Lord is flat on my back, when I’m so weak I literally can’t get out of bed.
I related to Elisabeth Elliot when she said: “My heart was saying, ‘Lord take away this longing, or give me that for which I long.’ The Lord was answering, ‘I must teach you to long for something better.’” There are times when we ask in weakness what we think we need to be strong, when all we need is Jesus.
Strength is a byproduct of closeness to the Lord, and the only way to find Him is in surrendering our will to His. As Elisabeth Elliot said: “I do not ‘make’ him Lord, I acknowledge Him Lord.” It’s ironic on many levels that, at least spiritually speaking, we win when we surrender. The harder we fight to be self-sufficient, the further away we push ourselves from the Lord.
For a Jesus follower life is a battle. A battle, not simply between good and evil, but between better and best. And yes, of course, there are times to stand and fight for what is right and good. But the biggest battles I’ve fought have been discerning between better and God’s best. Often what’s best for me is cloaked in apparent “weakness.” Standing down instead of standing up. Staying on the cross from which I’m dying to come down and show “them” who I really am.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 