My word of the year for 2018 was weakness. I know it’s a bit of an odd choice, and honestly I wasn’t quite sure how to approach it. Obviously it was not necessarily something I wanted to strive to improve in myself, like some of my words in the past. But I felt there was something to be learned from not only acknowledging one’s weaknesses but discovering how to utilize them or even embrace them. When I looked up the meaning of the word weakness, these were the first two definitions listed:
The state or condition of lacking strength
A quality or feature regarded as a disadvantage or fault
In John chapter 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. He is asked his disciples if the man’s blindness is a result of the man or his parent’s sin. Jesus answers that the man’s disability is not a punishment for sin but will be used to glorify God. I think about 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul states that he will brag about his weaknesses because Christ’s power would be made perfect in his weakness. 1 Corinthians 1:27 states, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
These scriptures sound a lot like God telling us to embrace our weaknesses. If we were perfect individuals, we might think we don’t need God. If we were strong we might take credit for ourselves and not give the glory to God. So yes, to a certain extent we should embrace our weaknesses as a means to keep us humble. But also we need to keep in mind that God works ALL things for His good (Romans 8:28). He can take our imperfections and still use them. Not only can he use them, but he has proven to do it over and over again. Not a single person mentioned in the Bible (other than Jesus) was perfect, and most of the time, their character flaws were very obvious.
These scriptures sound a lot like God telling us to embrace our weaknesses. If we were perfect individuals, we might think we don’t need God. If we were strong we might take credit for ourselves and not give the glory to God. So yes, to a certain extent we should embrace our weaknesses as a means to keep us humble. But also we need to keep in mind that God works ALL things for His good (Romans 8:28). He can take our imperfections and still use them. Not only can he use them, but he has proven to do it over and over again. Not a single person mentioned in the Bible (other than Jesus) was perfect, and most of the time, their character flaws were very obvious.
In the difficult times in my life I was tempted to question “why me?” but I had to believe God was planning to use my tough times for good, such as helping someone else in a similar situation. Not only have my struggles helped me to relate better to others in similar situations, but they have helped to strengthen my faith.
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