Church Family,
As some of you know, I’m currently taking a ministry/medical sabbatical. I’m writing from a friend’s ranch where I’ve been seeking the Lord in solitude. I’ve been spending time in Scripture reading, prayer, and journaling.
One of the things that God has impressed on me as an area in which I need to grow revolves around the blessing of weakness. In 2 Cor 12:9, Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.” In response to this, Paul says that he will gladly boast in his weakness so that God’s power will rest on him. He goes on to say that when he is weak, then he is strong.
Now, if this isn’t counterintuitive, I don’t know what is. Boasting in weakness? Who does that? I suspect most of us read these words and agree with them on a surface level (I mean, it is God’s Word). But do we really believe and embrace them?
As someone whose life is consumed with weakness, I wish I could say that I’ve got these truths down perfectly. I don’t. Not even close. I don’t want the weakness God has brought (allowed) into my life. I’d rather be strong. I’d rather be able to walk for 10 minutes without getting winded or stand for five minutes without having to put my hands on my knees. I’d like to be able to find comfort in other positions besides reclining or lying down. I wish I didn’t have neuropathy in my feet. I wish I didn’t have the digestive struggles that I have. I wish I didn’t have the constant threat of death hanging over me. I wish I could enjoy relationships in the same ways I used to enjoy them. I can’t.
A more mature person would boast in these things that I wish were not true of me. Trust me, I have a long way to go. I was reading Spurgeon earlier today and he retold a conversation that he was having with a man who’s life seemed to be fully in order. The man, noting Spurgeon’s life struggles, suggested that he could do without a God who allows such difficulty in His follower’s life. To this Spurgeon noted that God chastens those He loves (Heb 12:6). He went on to say that “even if I had a thousand agonies in every limb, I would not trade places with you. I am content to take all that comes from God’s love.”
That’s faith. That’s trusting God and embracing weakness to the glory of God. Let’s be clear, weakness itself doesn’t bring blessing. It’s a weakness that drives us to God, to depend on Him, to call out to Him, that is beneficial. What if God allows such weakness in our lives so that we sense our great need, realize our utter powerlessness, and thus cry out to Him more consistently and depend on Him more fully? I’m convinced that this is the posture that pleases God. May it be true of me.
Pastor Nate