It is okay to say you are weak, and trust God to empower you. It is actually more than okay, it is good. We all have those areas in our lives where we are weak. Paul shares how God encouraged him in saying “…“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV). Paul responds with “…Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, ESV).
God does not want you to rely on your own strength. God wants to empower you for all He has planned for you to accomplish. I feel weak at times when I do not feel as if I have enough strength to face what is ahead, and when I do not know what to do. I feel weak when I feel I lack what I need to be able to do what I need to do. But with God enabling and empowering us, we lack nothing.
David knew that he lacked nothing, he wrote “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1, NIV). In another Psalm he also wrote, “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:1-2, ESV). He describes the Lord as his strength.
Another man who trusted God and accomplished much, including leading in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem despite opposition, was Nehemiah. In thinking on what was accomplished, I think of Isaiah 61:4, “They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations” (ESV). In Nehemiah 8:10 we read “…the joy of the Lord is your strength” (ESV). This is a part of what was said at the time when Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites were comforting those who had been listening to the reading of the law, and were weeping in them realising they needed to repent of sins. God’s people were returning to Jerusalem after being in exile. Going into exile drew them back to God. They had started drifting away from God and in His love, He wanted to draw them back to Him. God’s people are now in a time of restoration, turning back to the Lord. God loves to restore, and I believe we also can keep trusting God to restore our lives and of those around us.
We are weak sometimes in us falling for temptation. But, remember that “… God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV). Turn to the Lord, and ask Him to strengthen you; in His “…presence there is fullness of joy…” (Psalm 16:11, ESV). All we have is not earned or deserved by our own efforts, but in God’s grace. Pride could be something that really makes us fall. We need to be humble and seek to glorify God. As we give thanks and praise to God; our God strengthens us.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed” (Psalm 28:7-8, ESV). There is no need for us to try take pride in proving our own strength to other people. You are precious and valuable, but not because of your strength. Your value, child of God, is in what Jesus did on the cross for you, and who God says you are. Keep praising God, seeking His glory for the strength you have been given.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV).
Christ Jesus is the one we turn to, to strengthen us. No-one or nothing else can truly strengthen us to face what we need to face. We do not even need to try be strong in ourselves. What we do is trust God, and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen and help us. The Holy Spirit empowers us, and we can accomplish much:
“and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone” (1 Corinthians 12:6, ESV).
God’s empowerment, God’s grace is all we need. God gives us what we need for that day. We just need to be available to God, and surrender. We are all different people, each with a unique purpose, fulfilling a spectrum of activities. Each of us empowered by our God.
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31, NIV).
In those times when I feel afraid because I feel I do not have enough strength to face what is ahead, God encourages me to “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10, ESV). When I do not know what to do, I can trust for God to give me wisdom when I ask (James 1:5), and for the Holy Spirit to guide me. Nehemiah describes how “my God put it into my heart” (Nehemiah 7:5, ESV). We have the Holy Spirit to guide us; as Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will “…guide you into all the truth…” (John 16:13, ESV).
Let us not let anything hold us back from fulfilling the purpose God has for our life. As the writer of Hebrews urges us, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2, NIV).
God-given purposes and dreams have beautiful outcomes. Do not be afraid to dream big again, with your head ‘up in the clouds’ and ‘soaring on wings like eagles’. The outcome is not based on your victory or strength, but God empowers you, out of love for you and others, for His glory and His kingdom purposes fulfilled. You may just see something really beautiful ‘up there’, that you can only see from ‘up there’.
Prayer
Dear Father God,
You are worthy of all praise and glory! There is none like You.
Thank-You for all our blessings, and that we can depend on You for all we need. You are our strength. Thank-You for Your grace, for the victory of Jesus on the cross, and for the Holy Spirit empowering us. You make a way for us, and empower us.
I pray that I “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:18-19, ESV). May you guide me as to how You are empowering me to fulfil the unique plan You have for my life. Thank-You for Your heart to restore, and may you empower me in fulfilling Your purpose for me.
In Jesus name, Amen.