Strength Found in Weakness

Lately, the Lord has been humbling me by showing me my weaknesses. It's hard sometimes for me to accept because I've always had a "superman" complex. I mean, I've always considered myself able to do anything... able to do anything I set my mind to... impervious to the world around me. However, I've come to realise how little I really know and how weak I really am. When I hear others speak about the Scriptures, I realise how much I don't know. When people ask for my counsel, I see how much wisdom I am lacking. When I think about my French learning, I realise my inability. It is easy to be discouraged...

However, the Lord has also shown me that even with all of these reasons, I still have no adequate reason to be discouraged. I won't give into this deception. My hope rests in the Lord. My hope rests in His faithfulness... in the fact that in weakness His power is made perfect. Over and over again, God has used the weak to shame the strong... the foolish to shame the wise.

I have learned that my strength does not rest in the acceptance of my own abilities or powers. My strength rests in the acceptance of my weakness. It is through my weakness that the Lord will be glorified. The weaker I am, the stronger He will be displayed in my life. When I am able to quote Scripture or give wise counsel, it will not be because of anything I've done, but only because of what He has done in me. When I become fluent in French and other languages, it won't be because of my abilities, but only because of what He has done in me.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will all 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 weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Cor. 12:9-10