Turn Your Weakness into a Weapon

“I just let Christ take over!”                                                   2Co 12:10 TM

Speaking of his “thorn,” Paul writes: “I was given the gift of a handicap…At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it…he told me, ‘My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.’ Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift…Now I take my limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become” (vv.7-10 TM). Paul learned how to turn his weakness into a weapon by allowing it to drive him closer to God. And that’s a lesson you must learn too. Eugene Peterson paraphrases Christ’s first beatitude: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule” (Mt 5:3 TM). Now, you can’t just accept your character flaws and areas of defeat and say, “Well, I guess that’s just the way I am.” No, you must confront each area of weakness, confess it, and “let Christ take over.” You will always struggle with one thing or another. Paul recognized this: “We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us” (2Co 4:7 TM). Like common pottery, fragile, flawed and easily broken, God will use you as you surrender and allow Him to work through you.

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