Weakness

Do you strive to "be all that you can be"? Are you pushing yourself to be the best of the best? Do you "buffet your body and make it your slave" (I Corinthians 9:27)? Are you a soldier of the Lord, a high-achieving, spiritually-scintillating leader? Do you stand out for your abilities, your intelligence, your wisdom, your strength? If so, I commend you for your accomplishments and abilities.

On the other hand, have you ever said to yourself, "When I am weak, He is strong"? Paul did.

In I Corinthians, Paul spends a considerable amount of time describing how WEAK he was when he first came to Corinth. "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (I Corinthians 2:3-5, NAS)

Just preceding that passage, Paul wrote something that cut a bit of slack for the rest of us, who might be considered by some to be "spiritual under-achievers". As one of those folks, I DON'T mean that we slack off & fail to try to do our best for God. But there are many like me, followers of Christ who might not have risen to be the "best of the best" for one reason or another. So I must admit that Paul's words in I Corinthians have a lot of meaning for those of us "below the 95th percentile", so to speak.

"Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, nor many mighty, or many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." (I Corinthians 1:26-29, NAS)

Again in II Corinthians 12, Paul emphasized this issue, as if to remind all believers: “He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well-content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:9-10, NAS)

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with someone striving to be the best, or to "be all that they can be", or "buffeting their body". I'm also not saying that there’s anything wrong with being “on top”. I’m simply saying that God also uses us in our weaknesses, which is a REALLY GOOD THING for me, because I'm weak in LOTS of ways! And I can’t be the only one!

I truly believe that it's a good thing for Christians to understand the POWER that God can display in spite of, or even through, their personal weaknesses. Because then we don't have to be afraid or wear "masks" with each other anymore. We don’t have to pretend that we’re some sort of “perfecto-Christian”. Then we can all be members of the same Body, with our individual weaknesses and strengths supplementing each other, building up the Body of Christ.

If You asked me to leap
Out of my boat on the crashing waves,
And if You asked me to go
Preach to a lost world that Jesus saves...

Well, I'll go, but I cannot go alone,
'Cause I know I'm nothing on my own,
But the power of Christ in me
Makes me strong, makes me strong!

Because when I'm weak, You make me strong!
When I'm blind, You shine Your light on me,
‘Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability.

How refreshing to know You don't need me!
How amazing to find that You want me!
So I'll stand on Your truth,
And I'll fight with Your strength,
Until You bring the victory
By the power of Christ in me!

If You asked me to run
And carry a light into foreign lands,
If You asked me to fight
Deliver Your people from Satan's hand...

I'll go but I cannot go alone,
'Cause I know I'm nothing on my own,
The power of Christ in me
Makes me strong, makes me strong!

Because when I'm weak, You make me strong!
When I'm blind, You shine Your light on me,
Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability.

How refreshing to know You don't need me!
How amazing to find that You want me!
So I'll stand on Your truth,
And I'll fight with Your strength,
Until You bring the victory,
By the power of Christ in me!

To reach out with Your hands,
To learn through Your eyes,
To love with the love of the Savior.
To heal with Your heart
And to think with Your mind,
I'd give my last breath for Your glory!

Child's voice:
When I'm weak, You make me strong,
When I'm blind, You shine Your light on me,
‘Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability...

All:
When I'm weak, You make me strong,
When I'm blind, You shine Your light on me,
‘Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability.

How refreshing to know You don't need me!
How amazing to find that You want me!
So I'll stand on Your truth,
And I'll fight with Your strength,
Until You bring the victory,
By the power of Christ in me,
The power of Christ in me,
The power of Christ in me!

~~"In Me" by Mark Hall/Casting Crowns (Album: Lifesong, 2005)