Skip to main content

“Our weaknesses create a space that God wants to fill with strength.”

A thought by Kyle Idleman, (2015-10-01) from his book, The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins (Kindle Location 1969). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

My wife just went through her Evaluation at work.  That means she had to look back at her year and put on paper how she did this last year and then go through it with her boss. 

Maybe you have to do that too at your work. Now some people love to look at their strengths but have real difficulty in accepting their weaknesses but we all have both. 

As Kyle says, “The idea of weakness being something to celebrate isn’t just counterintuitive; it’s countercultural. In our world strength is valued— not weakness.”

He goes on, “God is always strong, but in our weakness that strength goes viral. The world sees that it’s not about anything but him. At the end of me, I find a strength in God that I never would have experienced otherwise.”

He later says, “Christ made the ultimate lift when he raised the dead. That’s power. And he wants us to learn to trust his strength rather than our own. When we fail, when we’re too weak, when we’re at the end of ourselves, it’s then that we have nowhere to go but to him. It’s there where we discover his strength.”

He finishes this chapter by saying, “Our church staff sometimes studies books that will help us be more effective. A few years ago we read one called Strengths Finder. It included an online assessment that identified each person’s top five strengths. It was helpful, clarifying who had which skills so we could better lean on one another. People like assessments, and a number of staff members printed out their top five strengths and posted them on their office doors. All the while, however, I had an idea that wouldn’t go away. Wouldn’t it be even more helpful to work through a book called Weaknesses Finder? We wouldn’t find that title, of course, because publishers would know they couldn’t sell many copies of it. People like strengths. Weaknesses, not so much. But if God’s strength shines in our weaknesses, shouldn’t we want to post those on our doors?


So what are your weaknesses that God could show his strength in?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...