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“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9


Spring is here! A season of new life. The grass is green, flowers are in bloom, and pollen is coating every outdoor surface. Spring is typically a time that is associated with new beginnings. It’s almost like a second attempt at a new year’s resolution. Spring cleaning, reorganizing, donating clothes, and outdoor projects are all common things to hear about once the weather begins to get warm.

Many of these new projects can feel big and overwhelming. Deep cleaning an entire house with small children under foot is no easy task, afterall. Yard work and other outdoor projects can take a lot of planning and hours of physical labor. It is not easy. In fact, it can be quite difficult. When life gets overwhelming the world around us pushes a “treat yourself” and “self-care” mentality. While these are not bad things on the surface, they are commonly used as an excuse to prioritize our desires above all else. Our current culture tells us that hard things should be abandoned. According to society, if something is difficult, it is burdensome and unnecessary. But that isn’t always true. Following Jesus will be hard. Jesus said so himself. We will have troubles to overcome. It won’t be easy. 

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul writes, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” Did you catch that? God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. It’s not often you see the word perfect and weakness in the same sentence. We tend to link weakness with inability. Being weak is commonly viewed as a shortcoming or even as failure. Yet, in spite of our imperfections and weaknesses, we are able to be vessels of God’s perfect power. Actually I would argue that it is because of our imperfections and weaknesses that we are able to be vessels of God’s perfect power. Because we cannot do what God asks of us through our own sheer willpower and determination, we must rely on Him. If we embrace our weakness, we will be forced to rely on God and not be limited by what we can do on our own. 

We need to learn to lean into our weaknesses. You can’t do it on your own, but that doesn’t mean it can't be done. You can do it with God’s help. God should be our motivating force. He should be the source of our motivation. If we rely on ourselves, we are limiting ourselves. We cannot accomplish what we are called to do on our own. We will fail. But God will never fail. So embrace your shortcomings and lean into your weaknesses. And amazing things will happen. God will be able to work through us and the results will be so much greater than we could have ever imagined.