God’s Strength in Weakness: Why God Doesn’t Need Our Strength

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Paul’s Boast and Paul’s Thorn

Weakness. When we think of that word it is usually used in a very negative way. No one wants to be called weak and yet, in the upside-down world of our Christian faith, Paul tells us that only in weakness is God's strength made perfect. The only thing we need is the grace of God. As Paul finishes this thought he says, "For when I am weak, then I am strong"(2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

What weakness is Paul referring to? Paul knew that pride could be a problem. He was instrumental in spreading the gospel, teaching and instructing new churches, and leading the Gentile world to Christ; all of that success could tempt him to boast about his accomplishments. But what does Paul say he boasted in?

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14

We also know that Paul had a "thorn in the flesh" that he asked God three times to remove, but God did not. Why wouldn't He? So that Paul would not be prideful and so he would depend solely on Christ's strength (2 Corinthians 12:7). No one knows exactly what that thorn was but Paul realized through faith that it was necessary for his spiritual growth in Christ.

Is there something in your life that has happened that has made you realize you can only depend on God's strength and not your own? Is there something you have asked God to remove that He hasn't? Perhaps for us, like Paul, it remains for a reason. We may not know exactly why things happen, but we know God can work through them.

The question we need to ask is: Will we trust God when we feel inadequate, and will we give Him the glory rather than measure success by human standards?

God's Strength in Weakness

So many things can happen to us that should teach us where true strength comes from. Our finances, being treated unfairly, feeling unqualified for a task, fear, grief, health, and even spiritual doubts can make us realize our weaknesses. When we do, we don't have to worry because God is our strength. He shines through our inabilities and inadequacies so that we can see our need for Him. Even those closest to God sometimes have to realize their own shortcomings.

Think about it this way: a phone at 1% sends you straight to the charger, and nobody calls the phone weak for needing one. In a similar way, our weaknesses can remind us where our strength comes from. The disciples too learned they were not as strong as they thought they were. They would learn to be strong in the Lord.

Strong Promises, Weak Hands

Before Jesus' crucifixion, in Matthew, the disciples assure Jesus they will be with Him through His trials. And yet, when they are asked to pray with Him in the garden, they fall asleep. And when Judas and the multitude came to arrest Jesus, most of them flee.

Peter followed at a distance, but he too denied knowing Christ three times (Matthew 26). Although the disciples had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, they still did not fully understand who He was or that He would rise from the dead.

But like Paul who realized where his strength came from, the eleven remaining disciples also came to realize who Jesus fully was and turned to Him for forgiveness. The power of the Holy Spirit eventually enabled them to be bold and proclaim Him to the world as Savior. This strength came from God, not from themselves.

Let Him Who Glories

Scripture repeatedly reminds us that our strength and accomplishments are not the reasons we should boast. Long before Paul wrote about his weakness, Jeremiah delivered the same message to God's people. The great prophet Jeremiah, often called the "weeping prophet" writes,

"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty man glory in his might,

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

For in these I delight,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24

God Himself instructed Jeremiah that true glory could only come from the knowledge and understanding that we have of Him. Knowing God also means recognizing that His purposes are accomplished through His power, not merely through human ability.

Zechariah spoke to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah during the temple rebuilding, about this same thing. In Zechariah 4:6, Zerubbabel was told that success would not come from his might and power, but only from the Spirit of God.

In our world today this is the opposite of what we are brought up to believe. We think our success comes from our hard work and skills. We believe we are successful, not because we are weak, but because we are strong. God says differently. God's view of success also challenges the way we measure the results of our service to Him.

Faithful Is Not the Same as Successful

Not everything we do for God will be successful in the way the world counts success. Many missionaries have labored for years to bring the lost to Christ and yet seen only a handful of conversions. Jeremiah and Ezekiel both prophesied to the people for years knowing that God told them the people would not listen. Numbers do not always mean success. A heart surrendered in obedience is God's desire. Moses is an example of someone who felt too weak and inadequate to do what God called him to do, like many of us.

Moses: “Please Send Someone Else”

God chose Moses to deliver His people from Egyptian slavery. He was chosen to speak before the Pharaoh but Moses had a weakness. He could not speak well. He told God he couldn't go before Pharaoh because of this. God explained to Moses that He would be His mouth and teach him what to say.

Even after this, Moses still asked God to send someone else. The Lord became angry but told Moses that his brother would be his mouth and that God would speak the words to Moses and then Moses would tell his brother (Exodus 4:10-17). Don't we often tell God much the same thing when we feel called to do something? Don't we sometimes say to God, "I am too weak, please send someone else"?

Depending on God does not always mean He removes our limitations. Sometimes He equips us, teaches us, or provides other people to help us do what He calls us to do. Like Moses, we forget the Source of our strength.

Gideon: Too Many Soldiers

Moses was not the only one who needed to learn that God's work does not depend on human strength. God taught Gideon the same lesson in a very different way. In Judges 7:2, Gideon, was called a mighty man of valor, even though Gideon considered himself to be weak. God told him,

“The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’"

In the end, Gideon fought the Midianites and their allies, who numbered 135,000, with only 300 soldiers and won. This was most certainly a divinely ordained victory. God, of course, knows us well. If Gideon had fought with a large army, it would be the army who would get the glory.

When we have success who do we give glory to? We often talk about our successes as if we were the ones totally responsible for them. Have we forgotten who gave us our abilities? Any glory goes to our Father. Let's look back at Paul once more.

Why God Chooses the Weak

God does not want us to mistake our abilities as the source of our success. Paul makes this especially clear when he explains why God chose the people He did to belong to His church. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 we return to God's upside-down world view. Most of the believers in Corinth weren't rich, powerful, or gifted intellectuals, most were foolish, weak, and base. And why would God choose these types of weak people?

Again, to show the world that grace and salvation come from Him, not our own ability. We cannot save ourselves no matter how talented or strong we are. God has no need for the money, power, or worldly knowledge of anyone to establish His church. Glory belongs only to God and it is through the humble that we see that most clearly.

Your Turn

What are your weaknesses? Think about your life, assess it carefully, consider your ways and in all humility thank God for your weaknesses, because in them you will see God's power displayed in your life. As Paul ends this passage, he quotes Jeremiah 9:24,

"He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."