let's be weak

"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."  (2 Cor. 12:9)

"He has told you, O man, what is good;  And what does the Lord require of you.  But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?"  (Micah 6:8)

Sometimes I feel a bit out of my comfort zone sharing my thoughts on this blog.  Mostly I need to get my thoughts out of my head and typing helps me organize or make sense of the emotions.  I figure while I am journaling, I may as well share.  But then I see 2 Corinthians and I am reminded how important it is to be "real" with each other.  We all have weaknesses.  When we share them, we let others see God's strength working in and through us.  It is a beautiful testimony.  Much more beautiful than seeing someone who appears to have it all together in their own strength.  We are never called on to be strong or "tough it out" - we are called to show justice, kindness, and be humble.  

The strength part is not our job.  When my children were little, my oldest would always boss my youngest around or tell him what to do.  And I would remind her that it was "not her job."  She would be looking out for what was best for him, but when it turned into her being a little "mother" towards her baby brother, I would have to remind her that it was my job to set limits or discipline or correct, not hers.  It simply was not her job.  I think God wants us to understand that letting Him do His job is not always easy or natural, but we need to let Him.  His job is to be our power and strength.  Our job is to yield that responsibility to Him.

Every time I have a rough, emotional day where grief or sadness or anger takes over and I am able to focus on Him who finds it a joy to strengthen us, I give Him glory.  The weaker I am, the more I give Him to work with.  And, goodness, God has had a whole lot of room to work in my life these past few months.  So let's not be scared to show, or as Paul says, to boast about our weaknesses.  And let's be kind enough to one another to create safe places to be "weak" in front of each other.  I know I need that.  I bet you do too.  It is our way of letting God do His job and God uses that to bless each of us.