"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
— Ether 12:27
When I was young and single, one time I said to myself, "I'm doing pretty good. I'm an honest person, I'm kind, I do what I'm supposed to do. I think I'm living a fairly perfect life." Within a day or two I made a terrible mistake that brought me to my knees. I was miserable. I was ashamed. I knelt in prayer and pleaded with God to forgive my mistake, and to forgive me for being so proud.
We all have weaknesses. Some weaknesses are things we have very little control over, like physical ailments and limitations. Other weaknesses have to do with willpower (or the lack thereof) and desire to give into temptations. Maybe we're too proud. Maybe we're too afraid to take that step into the unknown - we just want to stay in our comfy spot.
When we come unto Christ, He will show unto us our weaknesses. Not to hold them over our heads as a threat to do better, but to invite us to become better. To show us HOW to become better. He wants us to become like him - full of love and obedience to our Father in Heaven. But we can't become like him when we are weak. We must be made strong. Through Christ.
BUT - He won't strengthen us if we don't want to be. His grace is sufficient for us, but only if we accept the grace He offers us. God won't force anyone to heaven. We have to willingly accept this opportunity. And we accept it by humbling ourselves before Him. We must be willing to let go of our weaknesses, and put on the strength of Christ.
Are you willing to let go of your weaknesses? Think about it - those little (or big) temptations you give in to - are you willing to let go of those things? Can you let go of the hurt someone caused you? Can you let go of your pride? Only when we are truly willing to let go, and humbly kneel before God in prayer, then is His grace sufficient for us, to strengthen us. Then will Christ begin to strengthen us and help us overcome and cast aside our weaknesses.
Then we can say with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phillipians 4:13)
With love,
I want to put on the strength of Christ, but as you said, Jean, it can be difficult to let go of our weaknesses. If only we would realize how God can transform us when we surrender to Him! Thanks for this encouragement!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMorgan @ http://www.forgivenformerfeminist.com/
This reminds me of Prov. 16:18, Pride comes before a fall. I remember having similar thoughts as a young girl. I even thought (before I was a Christian) that if getting into heaven depended on having more good than bad, that my good was definitely more. Thankful God gracefully showed me the Truth and brought me to Himself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up!
DeleteWeakness is the road to Christ! New follower from the "Monday Meetup"
ReplyDeleteTif
Ramblings of a Southern Belle
http://www.her-southern-ramblings.blogspot.com
Yes, we can do everything through Christ. Let go and let God form us. Thanks for sharing God's inspired words:)
ReplyDeletehope you take time to visit me: willyouhearfromme.blogspot.com
and joysnotepad.blogspot.com
You might enjoy a recent post that I wrote on Anger and grief brings pain to our body. In Christ we can overcome and our weakness will become strength because of Jesus.
ReplyDeletehttp://hazel-moon-blog.blogspot.com/2012/09/grief-anger-and-pain.html (This takes you direct to that post I mentioned)
Thanks for sharing at Tell me a Story !!
Focusing on HIM and not myself is one of my every-day, every-moment needs. I'm trying. Really trying.
ReplyDeleteFantastic post.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post on how much we need His strength in our lives! His power is made perfect in weakness! This is my first visit here from S&S. Hope your week is blessed! :)
ReplyDeleteIt always astounds me the way that God shows up -- all powerful and mighty -- in the weaknesses of His people. What an encouraging post and reminder here. Thank you for linking.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are brought to our knees then are we made strong! Thank you for sharing and linking up with SHH :)
ReplyDelete