We always exalt extraordinary strength. A great athlete, high-powered businessperson, or smart student gets the applause.
But it’s okay to be weak. The apostle Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament and started the first missionary movement, constantly spoke of his weakness.
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. (1 Corinthians 2:1-3)
His secret lay in his humble recognition of his inability and his determined trust in Christ’s ability. It was precisely this recognition and admission of his weakness that opened the door for great usefulness. That understanding pushed him to God, and as a result, we read this further admission.
I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:3-5)
Paul was “determined” to promote only Christ, never himself. God honors this selflessness. Paul knew that he would fall short, but if he could bring people to Christ, they would get, as CS Lewis said, “everything else thrown in.”
But the secret was not merely his admission of weakness but his trust in Christ to flow through him like “rivers of living water.” Christ’s resources are inexhaustible. And the more Paul died to himself, the more Christ rose in him and lived through him.
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)
Are you weak, insufficient, or trembling when you face tasks or people? Not as well trained as others? Don’t have the abilities or experience of the more recognized? Don’t let it stop you. Your weakness is the doorway to His strength if you will trust Him.
