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Breakthrough Word 2008 Issue 46 |
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Let The Weak Say "I Am Strong"
By John Gagliardi |
One of the great conundrums of the Christ-centred life is that when we
are weakest in our own strength, we are at our strongest in His strength. For most people
successful in business or any other segment of the marketplace, that is often a hard pill
to swallow.
It is easy enough to quote the Scriptures that we all know oh, so well:
- "Let the weak say, 'I am strong!'" (Joel 3:10).
- "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).
- "For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).
- "I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3).
- "For time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms... out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle" (Heb. 11:32 and 34).
- "Who is weak, and I am not weak? ...If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity" (2 Cor. 11:29-30).
- "To the weak, I became as weak, that I might win the weak" (1 Cor. 9:22).
But reading and quoting Scripture on Sunday mornings is not the same as living it out on
Monday mornings! Successful people, by their very nature, tend to be competitive and often
forceful and assertive.
But the Bible tells us that if we want to be strong, we have to be weak! It tells us that
our strength is only "made perfect" in weakness.
Does that mean we have to be passive and lifeless, as doormats just waiting to be walked
on by everyone we meet? Not at all!
On the contrary, the righteous are "bold as a lion" (Prov. 28:1) and we are enjoined to
"be strong and very courageous" (Josh. 1:7). So how are we supposed to be weak yet
courageous; to be weak, yet declare that we are strong?
The answer of course is that God is telling us not to rely on our own strength！we are
to "let go and let God". His strength is more than sufficient for us！He has enough strength
for us to throw ourselves totally on His resources and to trust Him to see us through no
matter what the challenges.
God is, well, God. He made us, and knows us, and He only wants the best for us！even if we
sometimes wonder at the way He does things. God does not always choose for us the quick and
easy way！sometimes He just wants us to struggle with our attitudes, to overcome obstacles,
to pass the tests He puts before us. There is no victory without a battle！it is nice being
on the mountaintop, but we have to walk through the valley and climb up the slopes first.
None of us enjoy the testing God puts us through！but in His infinite wisdom, it is
necessary for our own good. In fact, several times He advises us in His Word that His
discipline is ultimately good for us:
- "Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty" (Job 5:17).
- "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights" (Prov. 3:11 and 12).
- "If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?" (Heb. 12:7).
- "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees" (Heb. 12:11-12).
We are told to "stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" (2 Chr. 20:17), yet it is not
a passive, inert kind of standing, but a vibrant standing that is rooted in faith and God's
limitless power. We are strong when our faith is strong, and weak when our faith is weak.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind"
(2 Tim. 1:7). Weakness and fear are from the enemy, and it is all too easy to slide into that
destructive state of mind. But God does not give us weakness and fear. He injects His own
strength into us by faith, and gives us the power to overcome all barriers and obstacles thrown
into our way.
"For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak
in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you" (2 Cor. 13:4). |
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