Purpose Driven Life - Day 35

 

God's Power in Your Weakness

God loves to use weak people.

Everyone has weaknesses.  In fact, you have a bundle of flaws and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.  You may also have uncontrollable circumstances that weaken you, such as financial or relational limitations.  The more important issue is what you do with these.

We think that God only wants to use our strengths, but He also wants to use our weaknesses for His glory.  The Bible is filled with examples of how God loves to use imperfect, ordinary people to do extraordinary things in spite of their weaknesses. 

A weakness is not a sin or a vice or a character defect that you can change, such as overeating or impatience.  A weakness is any limitation that you inherited or have no power to change.  It may be a physical limitation, like a handicap, a chronic illness, naturally low energy, or a disability.  It may be an emotional limitation, such as a trauma scar, a hurtful memory, a personality quirk, or a hereditary disposition.  Or it may be a talent or intellectual limitation.  We're not all super bright or talented.

God is never limited by our limitations.  He will use us if we allow Him to work through our weaknesses. 

Admit your weaknesses.  Own up to your imperfections.  Instead of living in denial or making excuses, take the time to identify your personal weaknesses.

Be content with your weaknesses.  They cause us to depend on God and keep us humble.  Whenever you feel weak, God is reminding you to depend on Him.  Our limitations also show how much we need each other.    Most of all, our weaknesses increase our capacity for sympathy and ministry.  God specialises in turning weakness into strengths.  He wants to take your greatest weakness and transform it.

Honestly share your weaknesses.  Ministry begins with vulnerability.  The more you let down your guard, take off your mask, and share your struggles, the more God will be able to use you in serving others.  Opening up relieves stress, defuses your fears, and is the first step to freedom.

Glory in your weaknesses.  Instead of posing as self-confident and invincible, see yourself as a trophy of grace.  Sometimes God turns a strength into a weakness in order to use us even more.  It forces us to lean on God whether we like it or not.

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DAY THIRTY-FIVE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  God works best when I admit my weakness.

Verse to Remember:  "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."  2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)

Question to Consider:  Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses?  What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?