Weakness Is Strength

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see our calling brothers, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:24-29)
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                                                               Weakness Is Strength
 
Your strength outweighs my weakness
Your power overshadows my strength
Your light overtakes my darkness
Quieting all my chaos and inner angst
 
You appropriate what was taken
You reclaim ground that was lost
You raise a barrier of protection
Your grace is ever more than enough
 
You are all-sufficient consummation
You dance upon the grave of shame
You are all-consuming mercy
Yielding to the beauty of your name
 
You carry me through completely
You add to what is wanting in me
You bring an end to my false self
Accomplish your purpose, set me free
 
Your loving-kindness is sufficient
Your strength is fulfilled when I am weak
Therefore I glory in my weakness
That the power of Christ may rest on me…
 
 
His grace IS sufficient for me—not was, not will be, IS. It is sufficient right here, right now.  Why?  Because His strength is made perfect, complete in weakness.  To God my weakness is a place of strength.  Most people see weakness as a thing to be shunned, dismissed, abhorred even, but God sees it as a divine opportunity to display His strength.  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

I would not have known God’s strength fully unless I had known what it is to completely run out of my own.  Have you been there?  Do you know what it is to have your body, soul, and spirit so wracked with pain that you can’t lift your head?  Do you know what it is like to only breathe the air of weakness into your lungs—to choke on it?  Do you know what it’s like to have your emotions wrung out like a wet dish cloth until you have nothing left to give? 
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I can honestly say over the course of my life that it was in my places of greatest weakness where I saw and experienced the strength of God the most.  And now I know that my weakness is where His strength dwells.  I now know that I can do nothing without Him (John 15), nor do I want to.  To the degree I am yielded to Him, to the degree I become weak before Him, is the degree to which I will know and experience His strength. 
So what are you facing today?  Are you trying to stand in your own strength? Is the door closed? Is your womb empty? Is your child gone? Is the illness overwhelming? Is the relationship over? Are your finances thin? Is the depression too heavy?  Is the anxiety too thick? Is the loss devastating? The loneliness palpable? The time over?
 
Don’t fight your weakness, yield to His strength.  Don’t stand far off thinking He has forgotten you, let his grace cover you and draw you close.  His grace is enough, so stop trying to be so tough…
 
 
 
Written by Anne Marie Hawke
August 2021
 
 
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