“It isn’t about me.” That is one of the hardest things for me to live. I talk about myself and puff myself up and hope others think (get fooled?) that I am something better than I feel. I know I am full of flaws that I want to hide. The weird part, at least in my mind, is that God doesn’t care if I am full of flaws. He doesn’t care if I lack this, can’t do that, physically incapable of doing the other thing. God, the Almighty, says, “In your weakness, I can do stuff.” The corillary is “Your strength gets in the way of Me doing stuff.” It really isn’t about me. I have to get that into my brain. Stop getting in God’s way!
When we read through the Bible, some of the most “important” people were the ones with major flaws. Moses had a speech impediment, Gideon was somewhat of a coward, David had a lot of flaws, Jeremiah was “too young”, Peter loved sticking his foot in his mouth, and Paul tradition tells us was short, ugly, and bow-legged with serious eye issues plus he was a murderer of Christians. Every single one were not who we would have picked to be a leader but God did mighty things through them.
Paul complains about having a thorn in his flesh which was given to him to stop him from boasting. We don’t know what it was but he said it tormented him. He asked God several times to remove it but God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” He finally accepted that truth, God will use us in our weakness. When we put God first and humble ourselves, we will find that we will have a lot of boasting, boasting about all the great things God has done. God will do amazing things when we put our faith, trust, and understanding into God’s hands.
Ask God to use you and be open to His leading, even when (maybe even especially when) He asks us to do something despite our weaknesses.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no-one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint._ -Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)
