For God's Glory by

We are weak . . . yet by God’s power we will
live with him to serve you.
2 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)

I am with you; that is all you need. My power
shows up best in weak people.
2 Corinthians 12:9a (LB)

God loves to use weak people.
Everyone has weaknesses. In fact, you have a bundle of flaws
and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. You may also have uncontrollable circumstances that weaken you,
such as financial or relational limitations. The more important
issue is what you do with these. Usually we deny our weaknesses,
defend them, excuse them, hide them, and resent them. This
prevents God from using them the way he desires.

God has a different perspective on your weaknesses. He says,

“My thoughts and my ways are higher than yours,”

so he often acts in ways that are the exact opposite of what we expect. We think that God only wants to use our strengths, but he also wants to use our weaknesses for his glory.

The Bible says,

“God purposely chose . . . what the world consider weak in order to shame the powerful.”

Our weaknesses are not an accident. God deliberately allowed them in your life for the urpose of demonstrating his power through you.
God has never been impressed with strength or self-sufficiency.
In fact, he is drawn to people who are weak and admit it. Jesus
regarded this recognition of our need as being “poor in spirit.” It’s
the number one attitude he blesses.

The Bible is filled with examples of how God loves to use
imperfect, ordinary people to do extraordinary things in spite of
their weaknesses. If God only used perfect people, nothing would
ever get done, because none of us is flawless. That God uses
imperfect people is encouraging news for all of us.

When you think of the limitation in your life, you may be
tempted to conclude, “God could never use me.” But God is
never limited by our limitations. In fact, he enjoys putting his great
power into ordinary containers.

The Bible says,

“We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not
from us.”

Like common pottery, we are fragile and flawed and break easily. But God will use us if we allow him to work through our weaknesses.

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.

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