The Purpose Driven Life(82)
Two great confessions in the New Testament illustrate what we need for healthy living. The first was Peter’s, who said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”6 The second confession was Paul’s, who said to an idolizing crowd, “We are only human beings like you.”7 If you want God to use you, you must know who God is and know who you are. Many Christians, especially leaders, forget the second truth: We’re only human! If it takes a crisis to get you to admit this, God won’t hesitate to allow it, because he loves you.
Be content with your weaknesses. Paul said, “I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses.”8 At first this doesn’t make sense. We want to be freed from our weaknesses, not be content with them! But contentment is an expression of faith in the goodness of God. It says, “God, I believe you love me and know what’s best for me.”
Paul gives us several reasons to be content with our inborn weaknesses. First, they cause us to depend on God. Referring to his own weakness, which God refused to take away, Paul said, “I am quite happy about ‘the thorn,’…for when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him.”9 Whenever you feel weak, God is reminding you to depend on him.
Our weaknesses also prevent arrogance. They keep us humble. Paul said, “So I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations.”10 God often attaches a major weakness to a major strength to keep our egos in check. A limitation can act as a governor to keep us from going too fast and running ahead of God.
When Gideon recruited an army of 32,000 to fight the Midianites, God whittled it down to just 300, making the odds 450 to 1 as they went out to fight 135,000 enemy troops. It appeared to be a recipe for disaster, but God did it so Israel would know it was God’s power, not their own strength, that saved them.
Your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.
Our weaknesses also encourage fellowship between believers. While strength breeds an independent spirit (“I don’t need anyone else”), our limitations show how much we need each other. When we weave the weak strands of our lives together, a rope of great strength is created. Vance Havner quipped, “Christians, like snowflakes, are frail, but when they stick together they can stop traffic.”
Most of all, our weaknesses increase our capacity for sympathy and ministry. We are far more likely to be compassionate and considerate of the weaknesses of others. God wants you to have a Christlike ministry on earth. That means other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts. The things you’re most embarrassed about, most ashamed of, and most reluctant to share are the very tools God can use most powerfully to heal others.
The great missionary Hudson Taylor said, “All God’s giants were weak people.” Moses’ weakness was his temper. It caused him to murder an Egyptian, strike the rock he was supposed to speak to, and break the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Yet God transformed Moses into “the humblest man on earth.”11
Gideon’s weakness was low self-esteem and deep insecurities, but God transformed him into a “mighty man of valor.”12 Abraham’s weakness was fear. Not once, but twice, he claimed his wife was his sister to protect himself. But God transformed Abraham into “the father of those who have faith.”13 Impulsive, weak-willed Peter became “a rock,”14 the adulterer David became “a man after my own heart,”15 and John, one of the arrogant “Sons of Thunder,” became the “Apostle of Love.”
The list could go on and on. “It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of…Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets…their weakness was turned to strength.”16 God specializes in turning weaknesses into strengths. He wants to take your greatest weakness and transform it.
Honestly share your weaknesses. Ministry begins with vulnerability. The more you let down your guard, take off your mask, and share your struggles, the more God will be able to use you in serving others.
Paul modeled vulnerability in all his letters. He openly shared
His failures: “When I want to do good, I don’t, and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.”17
His feelings: “I have told you all my feelings.”18
His frustrations: “We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it.”19