The courage to be weak

Photo by Rachel Walker on Unsplash

This was a recent epiphanic prayer: God, give me both the willingness and ability — the humility — to be weak, especially when I try to be strong. Amen.

Then I realised what it would take: courage. Nobody wants to be weak. We all want to show how strong we are. But being willingly weak, admitting we are weak when we are, takes courage, which is real strength. Here is an irony:

See how there is strength in vulnerability and weakness in a façade that covers the truth?

The good news about weakness is this: God gives us all so many opportunities to be willingly weak. Yet, most of the time we are most willing to press on through our masquerade. Of course, we live in a society that deplores weakness. Society expects of us a masquerade.

If we can be leaders in living our truth with dignity, especially in weakness, we empower others by our example. We will then be seen as safe persons, and the world can always do with more safe people who resist the power ploys any of us are free to engage in. There is too much power and too many power grabs in the world.

This is license for us to be real, to engage with our weakness, and yet not to leave it there. When we are raw and real, we invite the empowering Presence of God to come in and help us.

God blesses us in our honesty. He sees our courage and says, ‘I remove your fear — here, have my strength for your faith!’ Or, equally, He might be heard saying, ‘I see you in your fear; here is My comfort!’ Then, feel it.

Because it is harder to live as God wants us to, the Lord blesses that risk we take to live an authentic life. Engage in this and see. Of course, we will meet resistance, but resistance only comes from those who are threatened by God’s strength in our weakness.

We’re more a blessing to others in our weakness than when we’re strong because of our courage to be honest.

The weakness we discuss here is not pathetic. Weakness that wrestles with reality in faith that God’s strength might be known is the realest strength. Indeed, weakness that wrestles is strength.

Do you see your strength rising out of your weakness?