How strong are you? How do you measure your strength? Is it by how much weight you can lift? Or by how much pain you can endure? Growing up I thought you measured a man’s strength by how much weight he could put on the bars in the weight room, how far he could hit a baseball, how fast he could run, how far he could throw a football, or how many hits he could take before he couldn’t take the pain anymore… The problem is that all of these things will eventually be lost one day and you won’t be able to do them as well anymore, its inevitable.
So why do we spend so much time and effort into trying to fulfill these worldly definitions? I was listening to a podcast the other day and Louie Giglio defined failure as not letting God be strong in our personal weaknesses. Well in that case I have failed a lot in my life, cause I know I have plenty of weaknesses when left to my own devices. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says Each time He said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. I’m learning how to boast in my weaknesses, but it’s not easy. If you’re like me then you don’t want everyone to know where you’re weak. Isaiah 41:10 says So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. ?I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. God has been showing me that my strength doesn’t lie with any of these worldly things, but it comes from Him and that He is giving me the strength to boast in my weaknesses.
One of the hardest things in life is to give up control and to allow God to take over the reins in your life. In the last few weeks God has asked me to give Him control of certain things in my life. But if we are being honest I did NOT want to! It seems so easy to give God control with the little things but as soon as He asks you to let Him control the things you really care about it’s a whole new ball game. Trusting in God to take my life where He sees best has always been a weakness of mine, even though I know that my life is much better in His hands than my own. What if He guides me somewhere I didn’t expect? Or what if He leads me away from someone I want to be with? But isn’t this the beautiful thing about God? He has plans for you to prosper, He knows the desires of your heart and He wants to give those to you. So are you strong enough to boast in your weaknesses and allow God to be strong where you cannot be?
My strength in God is growing everyday the more I know Him the more I trust in Him allowing me to put everything in His hands, giving Him total control over my life. Because my strength isn’t in how much I can lift but in how much weight and dependence I can put on God in my prayers, my trust and faith in Him.
8:30
