Tag: grace

“…So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 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 12:7-9 NLT 

 

What is weakness as it pertains to a person’s character or being?

One definition of weakness is the state or condition of lacking strength (physical). Another definition is a quality or feature regarded as a disadvantage or fault. One distinct definition speaks of an inadequate or defective quality.

“Lord, what is my weakness? my weaknesses?”

I heard the Spirit whisper, “What have you been delivered from? What did you once indulge in that opposed the way of God in you and for you?”

It dawned on me that every weakness that I carried with me before I knew the Lord for myself, I no longer carry.

I no longer carry the burden of shame, rebellion, guilt, sexual immorality, reckless speech/thought, impatience, practicality that hindered faith, timidity, vulgar spirit, self-esteem battles, depression, and everything else that encouraged me to indulge in destructive ways out of a need to protect myself so others do not see my weaknesses.

So I ask you today friend, “Is it still a weakness if you no longer indulge in it? Or is it yet a weakness because you are still harboring that which cause you to battle with your identity in Christ?”

I pondered deeply on whether not having a weakness was something to say out loud. Would it not sound arrogant of me to make such a claim? Then I recalled the heart of the Apostle Paul when he penned his letter to the Corinthians (see above scripture context)

The grace of God is sufficient indeed.

I can boast of nothing because I confess daily that my life, my being, my character is a work of amazing grace, a work that God saw fit to do through Christ and with the Spirit of God that sanctifies us daily.

How then can I live in the knowing of Christ’s finished work and still claim inadequacy or defect in my person?

Whose pressure do we succumb to when we feel the need to state our presumed weaknesses? Are we speaking of weaknesses according to what God reveals? or according to what human being say that we are? Why is that thing really a weakness?

 

You may enjoy “Who Told You?” Series

 

I believe that God’s way of showing us his work in us is by challenging us to grow and mature in the Spirit. We are called to repent, forgive, and renew our minds. That is no weakness. Rather, I believe it is the strengthening process of Becoming.

Besides, is God still not the Potter and we the clay? Do we really believe that God makes mistakes in forming our person? Once again, I urge us to consider the things we call weaknesses. Will we find that our weakness is in comparison to others and not to Christ? Would a comparison to Christ not leave us all vulnerable and weak in the hands of God’s grace to do the work of sanctification in us?

So why then do we call our cracks weaknesses? Are we still not in the hands of a merciful Potter who is reshaping, remolding, and re-polishing us daily?

I pray that our Father in heaven continues to do a perfect work in us through the Spirit and helps us to receive the grace of not boasting, but humbly confessing that there is no weakness in the strength of Christ Jesus in us. Amen.

 

“…So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 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 12:7-9 NLT 

 

“So what is your weakness?”

A dear sister in Christ asked me this profound question as we dined over good food and awesome conversation. At first I stopped, because I was not sure how to answer the question.

I thought in my head, “weakness as in a flaw in my character that I know of? According to others? Or a way I know I fall short according to what I believe God expects of me and has called me to in the name of Christ?”

In my silence, my sister expanded her inquiry and (at least from what I recall in the conversation) referred to a weakness, a weak point where I know the enemy can use as an opening…

I did not let her finish and proceeded to explaining what areas I naturally worry about when it comes to weak points that the enemy has used to torment me recently.

I answered, “Family. My family is certainly a weak point…” As I proceeded to break down the things I worry about when it comes to my loved ones, my sis interrupted again to redirect my response…

“…But what is YOUR weakness?”

Then it dawned on me that I had misinterpreted her question. I thought of weakness as in a place of vulnerability that the enemy has attempted to use to cause me to worry and fret and even lack faith in sometimes. But she was referring to a place in me I knew I fell short that most people would probably not guess without me telling them myself.

I went on to tell my sis of the guilt that lingered and occasionally lingers about the harm I caused others when I was young and ignorant of the impact of my actions. I also shared the guilt about the person I was when brokenness, anger, un-forgiveness, and disappointment ruled my heart.

At the end of my response, my lovely dinner companion was touched and appreciated my willingness to share deeper parts of my past with her. We embraced at the end of dinner and talked about the next time we can sit and speak again in love and in truth about many matters.

It was after I reached home that the Spirit of God whispered some truths to me that I did not readily recall during dinner…

“What is my weakness, Lord?”

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