Chapter 41 The thirty-fifth day God's power is manifested in your weakness

The thirty-fifth day God's power is manifested in your weakness We... are weak, but in the power of God, We will live with him to serve you. (2 Corinthians 13:4, NIV) I am with you and that is all you need. My power is made perfect in human weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9a, LB) God loves to use the weak. Everyone has weaknesses.In fact, you will find a whole host of flaws and flaws in yourself, including: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.It may also be that some circumstances beyond your control make you feel weak, such as financial difficulties or troubled relationships.But more importantly, how you deal with weakness.Often we deny our weakness, defend ourselves, excuse it, hide it, or feel resentful.Doing so prevents God from using these weaknesses as He wills.

God has a different view on our weaknesses. He said, "My ideas and my methods are higher than yours." Therefore, His actions are often just the opposite of our expectations. We think that God only uses our strengths, but God also uses our weaknesses to glorify Him. The Bible says, "God chooses...what the world thinks is weak, to put to shame the strong." Your weakness is not accidental, God allows it to be manifested through you His great power. God is never pleased with strong and self-reliant people, in fact, He is often attracted to people who admit they are weak.Jesus described those who admit that they are lacking as "poor in spirit". Poor spirit is the first of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.

There are countless examples in the Bible that God likes to use ordinary people with flaws to accomplish extraordinary things.If God only uses perfect people to do things, nothing in the world can be done successfully, because there are no perfect people in the world.It is a great encouragement to us that God uses imperfect people. Weaknesses, or "thorns," as Paul called them, are not sins, vices, or character flaws that can be changed, such as impatience or overeating.Weakness is a fact that you are born with or cannot change. It may be a physical limitation, such as a birth disability, chronic disease, frailty or physical impairment, etc.; it may also be an emotional limitation, such as spiritual scars, painful memories, An eccentric, or genetically influenced character: or a defect in talent or intellect.We're not all top-notch smart people.

When you think about the limitations in your life, you may be tempted to conclude, "God won't use me," but God's work is never limited by our inadequacies.He likes to put his great power into ordinary containers.The Bible says, "We are like earthen vessels hiding treasures. The real power comes from God, not from us."Like ordinary pottery, we are fragile, flawed and fragile.But God will use us if we allow him to work through our weaknesses.To be able to do this, we must follow Paul's example. admit your weakness Acknowledge your flaws readily, don't pretend to know everything, and be honest with yourself.Instead of lying to yourself or making excuses, take the time to identify your weaknesses, maybe you can make a list.

There are two candid confessions of the apostles in the New Testament, telling us that in order to have a healthy life, we must understand the following two things.First, Peter said to Jesus: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."The second is Paul's confession to the idolatrous crowd: "Like you, we are only human." To be used by God, you must first know God and yourself.Many Christians, especially church leaders forget the second truth, that we are only human!If you need to go through crisis to identify with this truth, God will not hesitate to allow it because He loves you.

be content with your own weakness Paul said, "I like to boast of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may work through me. I know that it is for Christ's sake, and I am content with my weakness."This sentence seems unreasonable. If we want to be free from the bondage of weakness, how can we accept weakness with peace of mind?Peace of mind is actually an expression of confidence in God, which means: "God! I firmly believe that you love me and know that you will prepare the best for me." Paul offers several reasons why we should be content with our inherent imperfections.First, he makes us depend on the Lord.Speaking of his weaknesses that God would not remove, Paul said, "I am willing to bear my "thorns"...for when I am weak, I am strong in the Lord."When we feel weak, that's when God reminds us to depend on Him.

Weakness keeps us from arrogance and keeps us humble.Paul said, "To keep me from being arrogant, I was given a disability so that I would always know my limitations".God tends to place serious weaknesses in us along with major strengths, lest we become puffed up.Our limitations serve as a watchdog, keeping us from rushing ahead of God. ! When Gideon enlisted 32,000 men to fight against the Midianites, God reduced his army to 300 men, at a ratio of 450 to 135,000.They have always hit the stone with the egg, and they will undoubtedly lose.But God manifested his power to let the Israelites know that only his power could save them.

Weakness can foster fellowship among believers.When we feel capable we don't need anyone.Personal limits let us know that we really need each other.When we weave together the delicate strands of life, a strong rope is created.Vance Havner has a quip: "Christians are as fragile as snowflakes, but when they stick together, even traffic stops." Most importantly, weakness increases our ability to empathize and serve, making us more compassionate and considerate of the weaknesses of others.God wants you to have a Christian ministry in the world, which means He wants healing through your pain.Your greatest life messages and most effective ministry will come from your deepest wounds.The things you are most embarrassed and ashamed of, and the things you are least willing to reveal, are the most effective tools God uses to heal others.

The famous missionary Hudson Taylor said: "The great men of God are all weak." Moses' weakness was his bad temper. In his rage, he killed the Egyptians, and hit the rock that he should have spoken to order with his rod, and fell again. Tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments carved into pieces; yet God changed him into "the meekest man that ever lived". Gideon's weakness was low self-image and insecurity, but God transformed him into a "mighty warrior."Abraham's weakness was fear. More than once, in order to protect himself, he lied about his wife as his sister, but God changed him into "the father of faith."Peter was impulsive and weak-willed, but was changed into a "rock".David, who committed adultery, became "a man after God's heart".And John, the most arrogant "son of thunder", became "the apostle of love".

The list could go on and on, but "I don't have enough time to mention... Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets... They were made strong from weakness."God specializes in turning weaknesses into strengths, and He wants to turn your weakest areas into strengths. Be honest about your weaknesses Ministry begins with weakness.The more you let your guard down, remove your mask, and share your inner struggles, the more God can use you. Paul's epistles contain many acknowledgments of his own weakness: His failure: "The good that I would, I did not do; the evil that I did not want, I did."

How he felt: "I'll tell you how I feel." ·His defeat: "The burden that weighs on us is so great, so heavy, that there is no hope of survival." · His fear: "When I was with you, I was weak and afraid, and trembling." Of course, showing weakness is risky.Letting your guard down and opening up your life to others can be scary.When you open up about your failures, feelings, frustrations, and fears, you may feel ostracized.But the benefits of this risky move are worth a try.Expressing weakness can express emotions, reduce stress, dissolve fear, and is the beginning of your freedom. We've seen that God "shows grace to the humble," but many people misunderstand humility.Humility is not embarrassing yourself or denying your talents, but honestly acknowledging your weaknesses.The more honest you are, the more grace you will receive from God, and the more kindness you will receive from others.Weakness is endearing because we are naturally attracted to humble people; pretense is repulsive, but sincerity is endearing, and acknowledging weaknesses is the key to intimacy. That's why God not only uses your strengths, but also your weaknesses.If all people see are your strengths, they'll get discouraged and think, "I'll never be able to do as well as he does." But when they see your flaws and God still uses you, they will Inspired, instead, you think, "Maybe God can use me too!" Strongness breeds competition, but weakness unites. At a certain point in your life you have to decide whether you want to impress or influence.Impressing can be done at a distance, but influencing others requires getting up close and personal, allowing your flaws to be seen.But don't be afraid, because the most important quality of a leader is not perfection, but credibility: the masses will follow you only if they trust you, and to build credibility is to be honest, not pretend to be perfect. Your weakness brings glory Paul said, "I boast nothing but my weakness and the greatness of God, who uses my weakness for his glory." Instead of pretending to be confident and invincible, see yourself as a memento of grace .When Satan points out your weakness, you can agree with him, but be full of praise to the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, because Jesus "understands our weakness" and "our weakness is helped by the Holy Spirit". Sometimes God turns our strengths into weaknesses so that He can use us more.Jacob was good at playing tricks, scheming all his life, and then avoiding the consequences.One night, he wrestled with God and said, "I won't let you go unless you bless me." God said, "Okay!" and grabbed his thigh and twisted his tendons.What is the point of this? God touched Jacob's strength (the muscles in the hollow of the thigh are the strongest part of the human body) and turned it into weakness.From that day on, Jacob walked with a limp and could no longer run; he had to rely on God whether he wanted to or not.If God wants to bless you and use you greatly, you must be willing to walk on the road of life with your legs bent, because God uses weak people.