I always thought that as I grew in
Christ that I would feel stronger, be braver in my faith, and overcome some or
most of my struggles. I don’t know about you, but as the years go by, I have
often felt weaker. While I do not naturally enjoy feeling weak, I am extremely
grateful that God has given us great insight in His Word that He is
compassionate and loves weak people.
I Cor 1:27 says, “But
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak
things of the world to shame the strong.”
Heb 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable
to empathize with our weaknesses.”
I Corinthians 12:9-10 says, “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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight
in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Praise God! It sounds like we are more valuable broken! That is a
relief and a comfort to me, and I hope it is to you as well. What weakness do
you despise in yourself? What do you often feel guilty about? What do you wish
you did better or were stronger in? Are there things you are scared to do for
God? Offer these weaknesses to God and let Him use you in spite of them. He
gets the glory, and we get the joy and peace of knowing that our flaws are not
fatal but can be useful! Below is one of my favorite stories that illustrates
this.
The Cracked Pot -- a Chinese Fable
A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on
the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One pot had a crack in it,
while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot
arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer
delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the
perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable
that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure,
it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream: "I am ashamed of
myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back
to your house."
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there
were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?
That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds
on your side of the path. Every day while we walk back, you've watered them.
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the
table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty
to grace the house."
God knows you inside and out. He knows your struggles and
weaknesses. Thankfully, He is big enough to utilize them. Let us offer our
imperfect selves to be used for His glory and kingdom. Let us, like Paul, revel
in our weaknesses because they highlight God’s strength. Let us stop beating
ourselves up for being weak and let God use us to reach other cracked pots!
Thank you!❤
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