Verse of the day
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (NIV)

In this world being weak usually means being without power, it means being stepped upon, abused, used, mistreated, taken advantage of, etc. Weakness is seen as a huge detriment. No one wants to be weak. Where does this desire to not be weak come from? A place of fear? Of helplessness? Pride? If you are weak then how can you defend yourself? This world looks down upon the weak. No one wants others to look down upon them.

Therefore, we try and be strong. How do we know what strength is though? Do we look to those who we perceive as strong and behave as they do? Perhaps we look upon those things that “make” us weak and turn away from them? How does this affect our relationships with others? We become vulnerable when we reveal our love for others. In our relationships, when we show love for others does this really make us weak?

Our notions of what weakness and strength come from the perspective of the world around us; our upbringing, societal influences, literature, media and other outside factors that are part of this world. However, I’m going back to pride. I believe that a core motivator for not revealing our weaknesses is our pride. Yes, revealing our weakness. We all suffer from human frailty that makes us weak. Hence, the desire to protect the self. Whether it be physically, emotionally or spiritually.

In the kingdom of God, there’s no room for our human pride. In Proverbs 3:5-6 we are advised to:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

When we love one another it’s supposed to look like 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. We are called to submit ourselves to God James 4:7-8. We can only do this when we trust God and put aside our pride. When we allow ourselves to be weak then the power and love of God are able to function in and through us in a divine way that we cannot comprehend. This requires us to set aside our pride. When we admit to ourselves that we truly are powerless on our own in this world to effect real change without God then God is able to do greater works in and through us.

I have often heard people say that “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle \ bear” which is just plain wrong. This is a distortion of 1 Corinthians 10:13  regarding God not allowing us to be tempted without a means to resist the temptation. It’s when we have more than we can handle in this life that we can see the power of God take over and do what we cannot. It’s our inability, our weakness, to handle those obstacles that come our way, and our surrendering them to God, that allows no weapon forged against us to prevail.

If we could overcome every obstacle in our lives then how would we know that we need God? We would believe that it was ourselves who overcame said obstacles. A belief so many believers and unbelievers already share. Whether you believe in God or not, walking in pride isn’t the way to go and the notion of being vulnerable isn’t just a “religious idea.” I wrote Weak back in 1998 long before I ever went to church or read the Bible.

It’s our vulnerability in relationships that allow them to grow stronger. As believers, our relationship with God is the paragon of a “perfect” relationship. A loving relationship grows when people are honest with one another and allow their weaknesses to show. It’s only when we hide our weaknesses, which we cannot do from God, that a relationship can be torn apart by those very same weaknesses.

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