His fears: “When I came to you, I was weak and fearful and trembling.”20
Of course, vulnerability is risky. It can be scary to lower your defenses and open up your life to others. When you reveal your failures, feelings, frustrations, and fears, you risk rejection. But the benefits are worth the risk. Vulnerability is emotionally liberating. Opening up relieves stress, defuses your fears, and is the first step to freedom.
We have already seen that God “gives grace to the humble,” but many misunderstand humility. Humility is not putting yourself down or denying your strengths; rather, it is being honest about your weaknesses. The more honest you are, the more of God’s grace you get. You will also receive grace from others. Vulnerability is an endearing quality; we are naturally drawn to humble people. Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy.
This is why God wants to use your weaknesses, not just your strengths. If all people see are your strengths, they get discouraged and think, “Well, good for her, but I’ll never be able to do that.” But when they see God using you in spite of your weaknesses, it encourages them to think, “Maybe God can use me!” Our strengths create competition, but our weaknesses create community.
DAY THIRTY-FIVE: GOD’S POWER IN YOUR WEAKNESS
At some point in your life you must decide whether you want to impress people or influence people. You can impress people from a distance, but you must get close to influence them, and when you do that, they will be able to see your flaws. That’s okay. The most essential quality for leadership is not perfection, but credibility. People must be able to trust you, or they won’t follow you. How do you build credibility? Not by pretending to be perfect, but by being honest.
Glory in your weaknesses. Paul said, “I am going to boast only about how weak I am and how great God is to use such weakness for his glory.”21 Instead of posing as self-confident and invincible, see yourself as a trophy of grace. When Satan points out your weaknesses, agree with him and fill your heart with praise for Jesus, who “understands every weakness of ours,”22 and for the Holy Spirit, who “helps us in our weakness.”23
Sometimes, however, God turns a strength into a weakness in order to use us even more. Jacob was a manipulator who spent his life scheming and then running from the consequences. One night he wrestled with God and said, “I’m not letting go until you bless me.” God said, “All right,” but then he grabbed Jacob’s thigh and dislocated his hip. What is the significance of that?
God touched Jacob’s strength (the thigh muscle is the strongest in the body) and turned it into a weakness. From that day forward, Jacob walked with a limp so he could never run away again. It forced him to lean on God whether he liked it or not. If you want God to bless you and use you greatly, you must be willing to walk with a limp the rest of your life, because God uses weak people.
DAY THIRTY-FIVE
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE
Point to Ponder: God works best when I admit my weakness.
Verse to Remember: “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)
Question to Consider: Am I limiting God’s power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?
PURPOSE #5
YOU WERE MADE FORA MISSION
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 11:30 (NIV)
36
Made for a Mission
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.
John 17:18 (Msg)
The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me.
Acts 20:24 (NCV)
You were made for a mission.
God is at work in the world, and he wants you to join him. This assignment is called your mission. God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body of Christ and a mission in the world. Your ministry is your service to believers,1 and your mission is your service to unbelievers. Fulfilling your mission in the world is God’s fifth purpose for your life.
Your life mission is both shared and specific. One part of it is a responsibility you share with every other Christian, and the other part is an assignment that is unique to you. We will look at both parts in the chapters ahead.
Our English word mission comes from the Latin word for “sending.” Being a Christian includes being sent into the world as a representative of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”2
Jesus clearly understood his life mission on earth. At age twelve he said, “I must be about my Father’s business,”3 and twenty-one years later, dying on the cross, he said, “It is finished.”4 Like bookends, these two statements frame a well-lived, purpose-driven life. Jesus completed the mission the Father gave him.