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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV
Has there ever been a time where you've felt overly self-confident when faced with dire circumstances? I haven't met anyone yet who can say they have. I think the majority of us know that when we are up against enormous odds, we all could use some divine intervention.
At the heart of every human being you will find an innate desire and longing for someone out there to care about our situation, our struggles, our battles. We not only desire someone to care, but to be involved in our life.
That someone is Jesus. If no one else in this world cares about what you are up against, God does, and he's given us as believers the strength to endure.
When we are weak...
Weakness brings us to a place of humility whether we want to go there or not, but it is necessary for the next steps.
"I need you Lord in this situation. I need your strength!"
"I'm feeling weak and I can't make it through this without you!"
-Sound familiar? If you're not on this journey right now, you will be at one point or another.
It's time to give yourself permission to start the strength building process.
Strength starts with Jesus.
Weakness is the path to the foundation we need to build our faith on.
...then I am strong.
Without acknowledging our place of weakness, which requires humility, we cannot recognize the power and strength of Jesus available to work in us.
Imagine strength as the muscle that God has equipped you with when you ask him for it. Now what are you going to do with those muscles? Are you going to let them atrophy and wither away? Or are you going to build on what God has given you? YES! I'm talking about FAITH. Just like lifting weights at the gym increases our strength, we need to work out our faith muscles on a daily basis.
We build up the strength of our faith muscles in order to prepare for what we might encounter down the road.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV
We need to be strong in faith when the fight comes, because it will come in one form or another.
For our family, the most recent battle came in the form of cancer. Your fight might come in the form of issues at work, marriage issues, custody battles, or possibly sickness and disease just to name a few.
So I ask you, what are your faith muscles looking like lately? When was the last time you exercised faith? Feeling weak right now? That's OK because your at a great place to get started.
So follow that path of weakness and invite Jesus's strength to flood your soul.