Our Weaknesses Can Strengthen Us Series

Our Weaknesses Can Strengthen Us

Strength out of weakness, sounds a little impossible doesn’t it? How can something that makes us weak cause us to be strong?

It sounds like a paradox, strength out of weakness, it is a phrase that at first may not seem to make a lot of sense, many in the world today would consider weakness as a problem, as something negative. My prayer is this morning that each of us will grasp how our weaknesses can actually strengthen us.

Maybe you have come here this morning feeling drained, maybe there are problems, or situations, or circumstances in your life that are causing you to feel weak. Maybe there is something going on in the life of someone you know that is causing distress. God can bring Healing and Wholeness into each of our lives today.

The Bible teaches us that God is able to turn weakness into strength. What may seem impossible to us is possible for God, God can use our weaknesses to strengthen us.

In the bible there are many examples of how God works in the lives of His people. People who in the eyes of the world, and even at times in their own eyes seemed weak, yet God accomplished great things in them and through them.

When they seemed to be at their weakest, when the circumstances seemed impossible, when the odds were against them and the situation was grim, that was when God stepped in, that was when God acted, when God transformed, when God moved in miraculous ways, when God showed that weakness could be turned to strength.

Need an example from God’s Word?

In Hebrews 11 we read these words: It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith, these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. (Hebrews 11:32-34)

Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel. Heroes of the faith, people who accomplished great things, people who knew great blessing. But they were people who were not perfect, they had problems, they had situations, they had times of distress, times of pain, times of suffering, times of weakness. Yet see those words: Their weakness was turned to strength! God worked in them and through them, God changed and transformed them! God strengthened them and He can strengthen you and me this morning.

These heroes of faith were not perfect, you and I are not perfect, we stumble, we make mistakes, circumstances affect us, situations bring us down, our sin damaged bodies experience illness and fatigue, but God can turn our weakness to strength, God can bring healing and wholeness to our lives.

That was an example of people from Old Testament times, let's consider someone from the New Testament. Let’s think about the Apostle Paul for a moment.

Paul, perhaps one of the most important figures in the history of the Western world. A quick look at the headlines of Paul’s life is enough to understand his impact on the world; his letters are some of the earliest Christian writings we have, 13 of the 27 books of the bible are written by him, and some would describe him as the hero of another, the book of Acts.

Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, he traveled thousands of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the Gospel, telling people about Jesus.

Paul was born in Tarsus, in modern-day Eastern Turkey, he was a tentmaker by trade, he was a student of the most renowned Jewish teacher in Jerusalem and he was also a Roman citizen.

Paul was both a man who could work with his hands and write with the eloquence of a Greek philosopher. But Paul was not perfect, his life was not trouble-free, and he wrote of a weakness in his own life, a thorn in his flesh, a weakness that God used to make him strong.

Paul learned how to be strong in the broken places of life. His weaknesses did not destroy him. With God’s help, he gained strength out of his weaknesses.

Listen to the Apostle Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

I was given a thorn in my flesh... Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My strength 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.