Weakness.
What comes to your mind when you read that word? Maybe it’s a chronic, undiagnosed illness that you’ve suffered under for years. Maybe you think of that sin that you’ve promised yourself a thousand times you’d stop. Maybe your weakness is the discouragement/depression/hopelessness that has lingered for months. Maybe it’s all of these things.
Weakness, in some shape or form, is a regular companion for every honest Christian, though that’s not the message we often hear. In our self-conscious pride and fear we cover it up. Like Adam and Eve, we sense our nakedness and hurriedly conjure up makeshift rags of bravado and confidence. But like our forebearers, those rags eventually fall away, and we’re left with those same feelings and fears. When not covering it up, the opposite inclination is to just sit in our weakness. We wallow in self-pity and depression, giving up any hope for change and joy. Neither ditch leads to anywhere good.
Hopefully, when you consider your weakness, you’re reminded of God’s power in comparison. However, without all the right pieces, God’s strength does little to keep the discouragement at bay. In fact, it can further our frustration by making God seem able to help, but aloof and distant. Or his strength can make us hesitant to reach out to one who seems unable to relate to what we’re feeling.
What hope does the Bible offer for our weakness? How does the Triune God of the Universe who needs nothing help such needy people? In our suffering and smallness, how does the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit meet us and strengthen us? My hope is that over the next few posts, we might look together at how each person of the Trinity relates to us in our weakness. None of this is a quick fix. There’s no switch that will immediately solve our problems and help us feel better. But I’m convinced that over time, with regular rehearsal and repetition, these truths can do more than keep us afloat. They can help us embrace our weakness, find the help we need, and finally be a means of grace and hope to others who are struggling.
I write these things as a fellow sufferer and weakling, but also as one who has begun to see God’s awe-inspiring mercy to the neediest of people. It’s my prayer that these posts will help us speak more honestly about ourselves, but more importantly about God and his ability and desire to offer strength and help in our time of greatest need.
Thanks for this!