I'm A Weakling

A few weeks ago, my wife was telling me about a book she was reading. In the book, the author recounts a conversation he had with someone who told him that, "Jesus is for the weak!" Clearly this was meant as an insult.

When my wife told me that, I smiled and replied by saying, “Whoever said that is absolutely right!” 

The Reality of Our Weakness

Our culture worships strength. 

We celebrate the self-made, the independent, the ones who need no one. 

We're told to project confidence, fake it until we make it, hide our struggles, and never let anyone see us stumble. 

Weakness is treated like a disease to be cured or a shame to be hidden.

But Scripture tells a very different story about the human condition.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us of the reality of our human state when he writes,  "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." 

Powerless, or in other words, helpless. Not a word that any of us wants to embrace, but the truth is, this describes all of us. 

Isaiah is a little more blunt in his assessment of mankind when he writes, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." 

Even our best efforts fall short. 

Our greatest strength is weakness compared to God's holiness, and I have found that true fulfillment is found when I embrace this. 

The Trap of Self-Sufficiency

For years, I fought against this reality. 

I wanted to be strong, competent, self-reliant, the self-made man. 

I believed the lie that admitting weakness was a sign of failure. So I performed. I hustled. I achieved, and in the end, I was chasing wind. 

The trap of self-sufficiency is that it convinces us we don't need God. 

As long as we can manage on our own, we don't have to depend on Him. But that's not strength; that's pride. And pride is a spiritual dead end and will do nothing to enhance your life. 

Solomon tells us the following in Proverbs, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." 

Notice the command. I am not to depend on my own understanding; I need to rather trust in God and allow His strength to guide me down life's path.

Strength in Christ

The wonderful paradox of the Christian life is that it is in my weakness that I can and will discover God’s strength. 

Paul understood this better than anyone. He writes about a thorn in his flesh that he begged God to remove, and God’s response is something that all of us who follow Him should cling to. 

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." God chose not to remove Paul’s thorn, but rather to provide the strength Paul needed to continue the work he was called to. 

Upon hearing this, Paul comes to a remarkable conclusion by saying, "Therefore (because of God’s grace being sufficient and His power being made perfect) I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

When I am weak, then I am strong. Not despite my weakness. Because of it. 

This is the exact opposite of what the world teaches. The world says hide your weakness. God says embrace it, because that's where His strength is displayed.

Who Jesus Came For

Jesus was clear about who He came for when he stated, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick... For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus did not come for those who seek self-sufficiency or for those who have it all figured out. 

He came for the weak, the broken, the sinful, the ones who knew they needed Him.

This is why the Gospel is such good news. It doesn't require us to have it all together. It requires us to admit we don't and turn to the One who does and allow Him to provide the strength we lack and, in doing so, live an abundant life. 

The Freedom of Weakness

There's incredible freedom in admitting your weakness. 

It means that you no longer have to pretend, perform, or carry the crushing weight of self-sufficiency.

So yes, Jesus is for the weak, and I am chief among them!  

If you're willing to admit that includes you, you'll discover the same thing that I have; a strength that has nothing to do with your own effort and everything to do with His power at work in you.

That's not weakness; it is the strongest place you can possibly stand.

Running the race with you,

Carlos

This edition was first published in The Life Design Newsletter on LinkedIn.