The Gift of Weakness
written by: Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”
Read just about any self-help book and you’ll be told you must shore up your weaknesses. Weaknesses are to be overcome in order for us humans to be fully actualized, or so they claim. But then this Jesus character comes along and is called the Messiah. He performs miracles, cares for the poor, the sick, and the lost. He performs exorcisms and demands justice for the powerless. This prophet, who seems to have the power of God, is arrested, humiliated, beaten, tortured, and killed in the most horrifying way imaginable, on a cross. The Apostle Paul taught his disciples the stories and teachings of Jesus. Like Jesus, Paul also understood the power of weakness.
I hate weakness! Weakness often hurts. You have a weak back and your muscles bind up and the result is excruciating. You have weak moral character and you hurt yourself and those around you. You show weakness around bitter, arrogant people, and they will take advantage of you. Exposing your weakness somehow makes them feel stronger. Just ask Jesus, whose own people yelled “crucify him,” after he was arrested.
After all their suffering, Jesus and Paul continued to spend their lives exposed and weak. Both of them continued to lift up their weaknesses like prized medals. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate my own weakness. When I walk into a hospital room, I can empathize with the pain, fear, and lack of control over any aspect of one’s life. Having grown up in a single-parent home, I can appreciate the struggle so many single parents face each day, from loneliness to exhaustion. Weakness provides empathy, which can be a powerful resource in responding to this broken world.
Those without many weaknesses have never learned to face adversity. They do not know how to cope, or respond to adversity. The strong are therefore weaker than the weak. For human beings, real strength is fleeting. Your strength depletes as you get older and your muscle tone diminishes. Your strength departs when illness occurs. The ultimate moment of weakness is death. Death shows us the necessity of weakness. If we cannot embrace our weakness, we will be unprepared when it occurs, and it will occur to us all.
Today, ask God to give you the courage to face your weaknesses. Only when you face your weaknesses will you have the ability to learn and grow. Jesus and Paul taught us that it is through our weakness that we find the ability to have faith in God. It is in our weakness that we recognize our need for God. Ask God for the gift of weakness, so that your faith and trust in God can grow and mature. See your weaknesses as the greatest strengths in your life. Then ask God to give you the wisdom to trust God and stop pretending you are strong. Rejoice is the strength of your weakness!
