Weakness Strong

Weakness is NOT a good thing, right?  No one wants to be recognized for being weak.  Being recognized for weakness would be like winning a trophy for placing last in a race.  Being recognized for weakness would be like having a weight lifting competition to see who was the biggest weakling.  Being recognized for weakness would be like having a National Honor Society for those with a GPA under 1.  “Congratulations, you are a loser, you didn’t do it, your lack of hard work paid off!”  Recognizing weakness does not happen.  Weakness is not something to be celebrated, it is laughed at and ridiculed.  Weakness is not something to be proud of, it is embarrassing and hidden.  Thinking of weakness as a good thing just doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Why?

If strength is the ability to accomplish something than weakness is the INABILITY to accomplish something.  Who wants to admit that they are UNABLE do something?  My greatest moments of frustration in life are when I am unable to do something simple like . . . get a zip lock bag closed, get the automatic van door shut, or not burn something in the microwave.  Weakness tends to produce frustration, anger, disappointment, shame, and fear in our lives.  Without a source of strength outside of ourselves we will likely spend a lifetime trying to hide or eliminate our weaknesses.  This will be an exhausting effort because no one is infinitely strong.  So, is weakness all that bad?  Is there an area of life where weakness is a good thing?

READ:  2 Corinthians 12:5b-10

Our WEAKNESSES are opportunities for God to display His STRENGTH!   1 Corinthians 1:25 says, “the weakness of God is stronger than men.”  God at His weakest is stronger than man at his strongest. No matter how strong we are or think we might be, we are still weak in comparison to God.  We must not allow the strengths that we do have to get in the way of recognizing our weakness and desperate need for God’s strength in our lives.  Why is it important to recognize our weakness before God?

Weakness keeps us from being CONCEITED and BOASTFUL (2 Cor. 12:5b, 7-9) – There was a story in the news recently about a high school girls basketball player from Wisconsin who fell, slid on the wood floor, and was impaled in the stomach by a large “splinter”.  Ouch!  Even a small splinter or a thorn stuck in our skin is painful and if it is not removed becomes a constant irritation.  Paul had an abundance of reasons to be proud (1 Cor. 11:5-6, 17-30) and so he was given a, “thorn in the flesh” in order to “keep him from becoming conceited”.  Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a humbling reminder that it was not his strength, but God’s that allowed him to accomplish the apostolic task that he had been assigned (2 Cor. 10:13-18).  Recognizing our weakness prevents us from becoming “conceited” or “boastful”.  We must be careful not to arrogantly promote ourselves with our own strength but in the weakness of humility fulfill the assignment given to us by God.  Our weakness keeps us from being deceived into thinking that we accomplish anything with our own strength.

Weakness allows the PERFECT POWER of GOD to rest upon us (2 Cor. 12:9-10) – One of the most important and powerful prayers we can pray to God is, “Lord, I can’t do this, I am weak and I need your strength.”  We are too weak to resist temptation.  We are too weak to unconditionally love our friends and family.  We are too weak to be joyful when life is hard.  At the moment we recognize our weakness and inability, God promises that His “grace” and “perfect power” are available through Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”  God isn’t looking for strong powerful people to accomplish His will, He is looking for those who recognize their weakness so He can put HIS power and strength on display in our lives!  When we are weak, that is when God is strong.

CONCLUSION
Romans 5:6 says, “while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”  Before we even recognized the weakness of sin in our lives that separated us from God, Christ died on the cross in order to accomplish what we would never be able to accomplish with our own strength.  Have you found the strength of forgiveness knowing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you?