By: Sarah Fox
Weakness is not a flaw, it is evidence of grace.
I’m sure that we all have that one deep secret that we won’t tell anyone. We might not even tell the people that are closest to us. I use to build a wall around my heart. I thought that I was protecting myself from future hurt, when in reality, I was doing damage to my own soul. I always tried to hide my true emotional state out of fear of betrayal. We all try to hide our pain. We walk around with the brightest smiles on our faces, thinking that we can mask the hurt that we feel. I have been doing that for a while now and let me tell you, it never works! I know what it’s like to cry yourself to sleep at night. I know what it’s like to put up a front like your life is perfect. I know what it’s like to fall on your knees and pray to God about something over and over again, and see no change in your current situation. I know what it’s like to be there for everyone else and wonder who would be there for you when you need them most. The truth is, we are all human. We all have fallen short and we all make mistakes. In essence, we are all flawed. Even though we are fallen creatures, our weaknesses are not flaws. We shouldn’t have to pretend that we have it all together because the truth is, no one does. You may be able to fool people into believing that you don’t have any problems, but you can’t fool the Creator of your heart.
“No one has it all together.”
The question now stands: What do I do with my pain? This answer might sound cliche, but its very powerful: Give it to God. Well, here’s the other side of that: What if the situation doesn’t change? The best person who knows about this scenario is the Apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul writes about a time when God put a “thorn in his flesh.” He prayed and pleaded with God 3 times for him to remove this problem from him and guess what: God didn’t take it away. Instead God answered his prayer by saying,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”- 2 Corinthians 12:9
Grace, (according to Google), is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. That was the basic biblical definition, but let’s get a little personal. Grace is having the courage to go to a holy God about your nastiest problems. Grace is having the freedom to be honest about your feelings, knowing that there is no judgement or condemnation. Grace is believing that Jesus Christ is able to understand your weaknesses and heal your brokenness. Grace is seeing Jesus as the loving God that He is. Many times we have this view of God as a distant, judgmental figure who is always angry at us. I’m not preaching to the choir when I say that God is not angry at you, He rejoices over you with singing. God is not distant from you, He is standing at the door of your heart waiting for you to come to Him. God is not deaf to your cries, He hears you! He longs to hear from you. If you are angry, go to God. If you are heartbroken, go to God. If you don’t know how to pray, go to God. If you don’t feel like it, go to God. If you don’t have the words to say, just go to Him. When we approach God in our weakness, His power becomes our strength.
“God’s power is made strong when we approach Him in our weakness.”
Never forget this simple truth: You are loved by God. Whether you know Him or not, God longs to hear how you feel. He empathizes with our weaknesses and He cares about our pain. This is a freeing truth that took me forever to realize. Every tear, groan, grumble, and moan has value to God. Here are two songs that gave me a new perspective on life and I hope that they will touch your heart.
Sarah I. Fox 