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Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)
A guy named Paul wrote that 1975 years ago. He asked God to take away something about himself that that made him weak and incapable. God had a surprising answer. Keep reading.
We want to be strong. Confident. Capable. We want to have it all together. We want people to know we have it all together. We cover our weakness. Hide our blemishes. Push people away from our pains. We show the best parts of ourselves. The highlight reels. The Instagrams. That's who we want to be. That's who we want people to think we are. The ideal self. The best self. The strong self. The confident self. The person that everyone looks up to as the role model. The example. The icon. The image of success. Maybe we aren't at the top of the latter, but we certainly want to be high enough for everyone's approval. The glamorous lifestyle. The status. The vacation that makes friends jealous. The career that makes us feel important. The amount of likes. The amount of views. These are the things we boast in. We think these things give us power.
But they don't. The perpetual cycle of presenting our best self to the world only creates a larger and larger chasm between the real self and the false self. It's a cycle of insanity that destroys the soul. It prevents authenticity. It prevents being known. It prevents being loved. It prevents being who God made YOU to be. Have you ever asked God to take away something that made you feel weak, foolish, incapable, or ashamed? What if God said no because He has a better way. An upside down and revolutionary way. A way that leads to true power - the power of Christ.
In a culture where we love to talk about our strengths, talents, and personality types, what if we talked a little more about our struggles and shortcomings? Our flaws and failures. Our fears and freak-outs. Our sins. Our trials and temptations. Our insecurities and idiosyncrasies. The stuff that makes us look foolish. The things that make us look weak. The things that people would laugh at. The areas where we are most ashamed. The parts of us that we hide in the dark. The anxiety. The depression. The sadness. The addiction. If they knew about that part of us, we think, they would know I'm a fraud. That I'm an imposter. That I'm not supposed to be here. They would know how alone I am. How afraid I am. How weak I am. How confident I'm not. How strong I'm not. How imperfect I am. How controlling I am. How judgmental I am. How angry I am. How selfish I am. How poor I am. How slow I am. How ugly I am. How anxious I am. How scared I am. What if those things were what we boasted about? Seriously, what if we, like Paul, promoted the things that made us look weak and foolish to the world? Wouldn't that be freeing? Moreover, wouldn't it be nice to have a consistent stream of power that comes from Christ Himself?
I'll start. Since the age of 20, I've struggled with social anxiety. I was always good with people and still am. I'm good at communicating. I'm at being in front of people. I'm good at interacting. But beneath the surface, you would never know - and I would never want you to know - that I'm freaking out with internal anxieties and racing thoughts that make me feel like I'm drowning. I've asked God to remove this anxiety for over a decade. It still remains. Wouldn't life be easier without it? No doubt. But if I can boast about it through Christ and get His power
with the weakness as opposed to my power without the weakness, then I'm in.
What about you?
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)
This promise is true because of the Gospel. That Christ became weak in dying on a shameful cross on our behalf, so that through faith in Him we might have the power of God.
In weakness,
Justin Broady
Lead Pastor