strong//weak

 

I received a comment recently, about me being a strong Christian. I felt like laughing and crying; laughing, because I'm really not strong; crying, because something made that person believe I am strong.

 Confession: I'm not strong. I'm poor, bitter, tired and very, very weak. I disgust myself with the way I treat others and what my thoughts are about. I buckle under pressure, and I give in to things, even when I know I shouldn't. I am weak. 

To the world, weakness is a horrible thing. We are taught to hold back our tears, hide our pain, and not let anyone in. We put on masks that say, "Everything's roses and sun beams, and I'm the strongest person in the world!"

But behind every smile, even the most sincere, there's a weak person. It's human nature---God created us to need Him. And when one tries to find strength in other things, one slowly loses any chance of being strong. 

In his {second} letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes about false strength and being humbled by weaknesses: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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 12:7-9

There are days when the Holy Spirit fills me, and I feel strong for a while. But if I get too full of myself, God gently reminds me how weak I am....and how I depend wholly on Him. 

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness /// 2 Corinthians 11:30

I feel weak when I think of my academic future.

I feel weak when I compare myself to other girls.

I feel weak when I think about my sinfulness.

I feel weak when I pay attention to world news.

I feel weak when I go without reading the Word.
I feel weak when I think about Satan.
I feel weak when change happens in my life.
I constantly feel weak. But now I boast in it, for He has made me strong through my weaknesses.

-L