God’s Power in Our Weakness: Trusting What He Is Able to Do

God Is Able Even When We Are Weak

Weakness is often equated with failure, but maybe weakness can be good if it directs us to the One who is powerfully able, even when we are not. In Scripture we are reminded of the many things that God is able to do that we cannot. The word translated able in the New Testament in Greek means power, capability, or strength. From the original Greek word comes our word for dynamite. He is able beyond our understanding.

We say we know that God can raise us from our sick beds. We say we know that we will be resurrected to new life. But do we really know just how able God is? Do we really believe in our own life and in our time of need that we can trust Him? Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that God's "power is made perfect in weakness." He is able whether or not He chooses to act in the way we hope. God will keep His promises, of that we can be sure.

Romans 4:21 reminds us that Abraham was convinced, without wavering, that God was able to do what He had promised to do. Abraham had been promised that he would be the father of many nations and though his promised child was not born until Abraham was a hundred years old (Genesis 21), God kept that promise.

Others may have doubted that Abraham would ever have children since he and Sarah were so old, but Abraham's faith was steadfast. When Isaac was finally born, we see the beginning of the fulfillment of God's promise. Abraham was a believer that God was able but there were some who didn't believe it.

Do We Believe That God Is Able?

When the spies go to check out the Promised Land, we have two different types of people. There are 10 spies who say that "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we" (Numbers 13:31). But two, Joshua and Caleb have a different view, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it”(Numbers 13:30).

The people cry and complain that they have come so far only to see their hopes dashed, or so they believe. As punishment for those who refused to believe that God was able to do as He promised, the entire generation, that God calls an 'evil congregation,' will not live to see the Promised Land. After everything they had seen God do, they still doubted that He was able. Their weakness didn't lead them to God, but away. Today, do we doubt? Do we believe our problems and difficulties are too big for God?

"Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass." Joshua 21:45

God Keeps His Promises When They Seem Impossible

Just as God kept His covenant with Abraham, He also kept His word to an entire exiled nation. The people of Israel were promised that they would return to their own country after 70 years of exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:10). It must have seemed impossible; an empire like Babylon didn't simply release its captives. A generation would live and die in that foreign land waiting on the promise.

Yet when the 70 years were fulfilled, God moved the heart of a pagan king, Cyrus of Persia, to send the exiles home and even fund the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 1:1-3). God did not need Israel to have the power to free itself. In His timing, He worked through a pagan king to accomplish exactly what He had promised.

God Is Able Even When He Says No

When the Jews were in captivity in Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow in worship to an idol. Before they entered the furnace they announced that their God was able to deliver them from the fire but if He chose not to, though they were the only three that stood, they would not worship an idol (Daniel 3:17-18). And God did deliver them from the fire. God is able to perform miracles, but it must be His will. When we pray humbly to God, we don't doubt what He can do, but we have to accept His desires for us as what is best.

God Is Able to Keep His Greatest Promise

Most importantly, God promised a Savior, the Messiah, for His people in many prophecies beginning in Genesis 3:15. As Christians, we know that Jesus was the fulfillment of that prophecy. And we live with the expectation of His promised return. And in Joel 2:28-29 God promised to pour out His Spirit on all people. This was realized in Acts 2:16-21 when the Holy Spirit was poured out on His disciples on Pentecost.

God Is Able to Keep Us From Stumbling

God is a promise keeper and He is also able to keep us from stumbling (Jude 24). Jude reminds us that sin does not have a hold on us because we belong to God and are a new creation. He is able to help us resist the sins that repeatedly tempt us. What sin is difficult for you to let go of? God is able to keep you from falling into that sin. Many of us struggle with sexual sin, pride, or greed, but then some of us struggle with gossiping, complaining, or impatience. God is able to keep us from all of these.

Often the Devil attacks us with fear—fear that we can never be good enough for God, fear that no matter what we do we will stumble, and fear that the temptations will simply overwhelm us. If we seek God in prayer, humility, and faith, while believing in His power and might, He will direct us and guide us. When fear makes us feel weak, that is when we need to turn to our powerful God. Let us be strong in the Lord.

God Is Able to Lead Us in Righteousness

God is not merely able to keep us from stumbling; He is able to lead us in the paths of righteousness. Psalm 23:3 tells us, "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake." Are we trusting that God is able to lead and guide us into righteousness? We don't walk out our faith alone.

God Is Able to Do More Than We Ask or Think

And God's ability is never limited. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," (Ephesians 3:20). That power is the Holy Spirit, and when the verse uses the word "works," it describes power that is actively at work. Do we live like this is true? Are our eyes opened to the many ways God's abundance is shown to us?

Jesus opened eyes, literally, in Matthew 9:27-31. Two blind men plead for mercy from Jesus. His response is to ask if they believe He is able to do this. They reply yes and He restores their vision, "according to your faith." Their faith was not a way of controlling what Jesus would do. It was trust that He was able to do what they asked. When we pray for healing, how much faith do we pray with? It is easy to limit our faith by limiting our expectations. But as Ephesians 3:20 reminds us, God is able to do more than we ask and more than we think possible.

I have a pastor friend working in Kenya. He faces many overwhelming obstacles while he serves his community. He needs a church building, not a shed. He needs food for sick orphans. He needs strength from God, and he does not waver. He trusts God to supply his needs in his weakness, just as we should.

God's Power in Our Weakness - Thinking Big

Our weakness, impossible circumstances, unanswered questions, temptations, fears, and limitations do not determine what God is able to do. We often hear the expression, ‘Think Big.’ As Christians, perhaps we need to think bigger about God—not because we can make Him do what we want, but because we so easily measure His ability by the size of our circumstances. Most of us need encouragement to help increase our faith.

God encourages us through the answered prayers we see in our lives and the lives of others. He encourages us through His Word and fellow believers. He encourages our faith to stretch and grow because in our lives as Christians His promises, His grace, His love, and His power work in us and, through us, to bless the world. Through us, the world sees Christ. Let us shout from the rooftops, "He is able!"