I have seen so many people that have great weakness in their lives. Whether someone's weakness be lying, lust, stealing, addiction, adultery, gambling, pride, covetousness or envy (as well as many more)...every person is weak every day. I have personally been weak (and continue to be) in so many areas of my life that they cannot be counted. I am a former alcohol and drug addict who has habitually lied, usually out of deep desire to gain other's approval. I now see my children lying at times because they desperately want my approval, which I believe I give them liberally. I have been weak in the areas of keeping my word and being a faithful and trustworthy friend. I have been exploding with pride at times and almost crippled with fear at other times. The world might say that I am a "hot mess."
But aren't we all a hot mess if we are being honest with ourselves? Your weaknesses may be different than mine, but the truth is, we are all very weak in our own ways. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ALL. That includes you (and me). ALL includes world leaders, your children's teachers...ALL means ALL.
With this information, there are a couple of things we could do. We can sit down and just say "it will never be better, I'll always be a mess" or we can go to God and ask Him for wisdom on how our lives might become better, and we might overcome weakness and become stronger.
James 1:5 (KJV)
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him."
As we study the scriptures of the Bible, what does God say about our weaknesses?
2 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)
"For though he was crucified through 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."
So we see that in great weakness, Jesus went to the cross to be crucified as the perfect sacrifice to make atonement for all the sins of the world - our weaknesses. He lives now by the power of God that raised Him from the dead, and so, although we are great in weaknesses, we live by the power of God's Spirit living in us and working toward our lives.
1 John 4:9 (KJV)
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."
God knew our weakness, the curse of sin in our lives...He knew we couldn't fix our own problems, or become strong through our own will. We needed power from God to overcome our weakness. This power came through God sending His only begotten Son Jesus to die for our sins, that we might live through Him.
Romans 6:4
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
A few years ago, I was feeling especially frustrated with my own personal weaknesses and the weaknesses of those around me. I was feeling overwhelmed by the work of Satan in my life, and the consequences of sin in my life. I was feeling very heavy and sad, as if I would never overcome these problems. The LORD spoke into my spirit and said:
I want to tell you a secret of the kingdom of God. I want to tell you something that Satan does not want you to know. THE AREA OF YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS IS ALSO THE AREA OF YOUR GREATEST POWER AND ANOINTING.
I thought about what the Lord was speaking to me. This truth settled into my spirit as I began to remember what the Bible says about this:
2 Samuel 3:38-39 (KJV)
"And the king said unto his servants, Know you not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness."
Here we see an anointed king of Israel declaring his weakness before God. He then states that the Lord will reward the evildoer - showing God's power to accomplish what the king of Israel could not do! If the king of Israel is weak and relies on God's power to accomplish great things, so should we!
2 Corinthians 12:6 (NLT)
"If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
The Apostle Paul knew this secret of God's kingdom - weakness in our lives allows for God's great power to be shown in us. We are weak, but God is strong enough to overcome all our weakness. In our weakness, the power of Christ shines more brightly through our lives. People come to know that all have sinned, but God's glory is in the lives of His children through Jesus, not by our own works.
I know that you have weakness in your life. I know that you struggle. I do too. We can be sure that God does not look down on us in anger for our weakness, but instead it gives Him an opportunity to show off the great power and glory of His grace working through our lives.
May God bless you upon the hearing of His Word give you knowledge, understanding and wisdom in Jesus name!
Your sister in Christ,
Sarah
But aren't we all a hot mess if we are being honest with ourselves? Your weaknesses may be different than mine, but the truth is, we are all very weak in our own ways. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ALL. That includes you (and me). ALL includes world leaders, your children's teachers...ALL means ALL.
With this information, there are a couple of things we could do. We can sit down and just say "it will never be better, I'll always be a mess" or we can go to God and ask Him for wisdom on how our lives might become better, and we might overcome weakness and become stronger.
James 1:5 (KJV)
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him."
As we study the scriptures of the Bible, what does God say about our weaknesses?
2 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)
"For though he was crucified through 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."
So we see that in great weakness, Jesus went to the cross to be crucified as the perfect sacrifice to make atonement for all the sins of the world - our weaknesses. He lives now by the power of God that raised Him from the dead, and so, although we are great in weaknesses, we live by the power of God's Spirit living in us and working toward our lives.
1 John 4:9 (KJV)
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."
God knew our weakness, the curse of sin in our lives...He knew we couldn't fix our own problems, or become strong through our own will. We needed power from God to overcome our weakness. This power came through God sending His only begotten Son Jesus to die for our sins, that we might live through Him.
Romans 6:4
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
A few years ago, I was feeling especially frustrated with my own personal weaknesses and the weaknesses of those around me. I was feeling overwhelmed by the work of Satan in my life, and the consequences of sin in my life. I was feeling very heavy and sad, as if I would never overcome these problems. The LORD spoke into my spirit and said:
I want to tell you a secret of the kingdom of God. I want to tell you something that Satan does not want you to know. THE AREA OF YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS IS ALSO THE AREA OF YOUR GREATEST POWER AND ANOINTING.
I thought about what the Lord was speaking to me. This truth settled into my spirit as I began to remember what the Bible says about this:
2 Samuel 3:38-39 (KJV)
"And the king said unto his servants, Know you not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness."
Here we see an anointed king of Israel declaring his weakness before God. He then states that the Lord will reward the evildoer - showing God's power to accomplish what the king of Israel could not do! If the king of Israel is weak and relies on God's power to accomplish great things, so should we!
2 Corinthians 12:6 (NLT)
"If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
The Apostle Paul knew this secret of God's kingdom - weakness in our lives allows for God's great power to be shown in us. We are weak, but God is strong enough to overcome all our weakness. In our weakness, the power of Christ shines more brightly through our lives. People come to know that all have sinned, but God's glory is in the lives of His children through Jesus, not by our own works.
I know that you have weakness in your life. I know that you struggle. I do too. We can be sure that God does not look down on us in anger for our weakness, but instead it gives Him an opportunity to show off the great power and glory of His grace working through our lives.
May God bless you upon the hearing of His Word give you knowledge, understanding and wisdom in Jesus name!
Your sister in Christ,
Sarah
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