Ways to Respond to Weaknesses
We see them in ourselves, daily and I am sure others have pointed ours out - Weaknesses. We all have them and some are more obvious than others. For most of us, weaknesses of our mind, body, and spirit are very obvious, especially for those with a tendency towards perfectionism but still it may not always be easy to detect all of our own weaknesses. It is a good thing to be able to see our shortcomings as they are proof of our human frailty and our need for God. How we respond to weaknesses will either aid our hope for the future or take away from our hope.
Weakness - flaw, failing, shortcoming, instability, powerlessness, deficiency. For many of us, weaknesses can cause us to look inward only, at a fight that we cannot fight ourselves, though we try and we fail. For many of us, we become very discouraged with ourselves after many years of failing in the areas we want to see growth in. We may find we are also prone to self-pity, and disappointments with others, but especially with ourselves. If we respond only inwardly, that is we seek in ourselves a solution, we will find none suitable to the great task. We will find ourselves withdrawn and depressed. Life becomes too hard and the value of life seems little.
What if we can start to look at our weaknesses differently. When we see a weakness in ourselves, our first response can be one of thanksgiving, not condemnation - And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9). Infirmities – disabilities, weaknesses, sicknesses, susceptibilities. We can be, in some good way, glad for the weaknesses we have, knowing it can actually draw us nearer to God. If we were perfect in all things, would we need God's presence, power, strength, and grace for each new day? Some of us may want to ignore our shortcomings. If we cannot come to terms with our imperfection, which the Lord already knows about, then how can we rise above them and have the Lord’s mighty hand in our lives? The Lord wants to have His hand in our day to day life – to show Himself faithful – to show His power in our struggles, so our lives can be living instruments of glory to His name and so that we can be continually shaped into His likeness - For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).
Our second response can be one of prayer and surrender, knowing that in our own strength, we cannot, but in His grace, we can. He may enable us to do something that we would normally tend to have a weakness in but it may not be in the way we would desire or think. What we tend to do is compare ourselves with others and desire to be like them. Instead, we can grow towards desiring to be like the Lord, wanting His character and desiring to be like the unique person He has made us to be. God has made us a unique individual. His strength may rest upon us as we surrender our weak areas to Him but it will rest upon the life He has given to us to lead and it will flow through our own individual, unique person.
Let us talk about discipline for a moment. It may just very well be that without it, our surrendering to the Lord will have much lack. Our weaknesses in one area can be sometimes followed by weaknesses in another area. For example, if we do not exhibit self-control, we be see it come up not only in our eating habits but also in the ways we use our time, or our finances, or in social media.
Self-control – strength of will, strength of mind. It isn’t will-power really rather it is strength that we have internally built and that we are building it upon the foundational rock of our faith, through thanksgiving and surrender. One of the fruits of the spirit is temperance or self-restraint - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another (Galatians 5:22-26).
We tend towards seeing self-control as a restraint (restriction, command, withholding). We view restraints as taking away the pleasures of life. What if we can grow to see self-control as self-valued, that you value yourself and those you love above whatever it is that is seeking to overcome you? How about we see self-control as providing more life for us than being taken down against our will. Dwell on this a moment - God had set the oceans within a boundary. If He did not, we would have water flooding uncontrollably. As we live with thanksgiving in our hearts and surrender to Him in our mind, body, and spirit, we will slowly see how God is setting some boundaries that are right for our life.
Let us seek the Lord. Take a walk today. And as the wind billows through the trees and past your cheeks, give to God the problems and struggles you face today. Maybe inquire of Him and allow Him to show where you may need some strengthening. This is partly what it means to surrender. To surrender we must be willing to be exposed to Him, and wanting His work in our lives. We're going to have shortcomings. How we respond to them will either make us stronger or weaker.
No matter where you may find yourself in life, able or disabled, we each still have work to do and we can all work to keep our hope for the eternal future that is to come. As we respond to weaknesses in ourselves and even in others, we will begin to see God's beauty in ways we hadn't before and once we practice self-control and it becomes more weaved into our character, we will see it in many areas of our life. Have hope.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior Who alone is wise Be glory and majesty Dominion and Power Both now and forever Amen (Jude 1:24-25).
On this journey together,
Kari