Topic: Weakness Can Be a Good Thing [RICK WARREN Devotional 26 April 2023]
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Weakness Can Be a Good Thing
BY RICK WARREN — APRIL 26, 2023
FROM THE KEYS TO A BLESSED LIFE
“You bless all who depend on you for their strength.”
Psalm 84:5 (CEV)
Are you tired? Maybe you’re running on steam, and at the end of each day, you’ve run out of energy. The reason why is really simple: You’re a human being.
Your strength is limited. But God’s strength is unlimited. Your strength is finite. But God’s strength is infinite. Your strength is exhaustible—that’s why you get exhausted! But God’s strength is inexhaustible. God never runs out of energy. God never gets tired.
Psalm 84:5 says, “You bless all who depend on you for their strength” (CEV). Do you want God’s blessing on your life? Then you need to depend on God for your strength.
Hudson Taylor was an influential missionary to China in the 19th century. He was a spiritual giant and a brilliant man. In his old age, he lost his health and became quite weak. He wrote a letter to a friend that said, “I am so weak I can no longer work. I am so weak I can no longer study. I am so weak I can no longer read my Bible. I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in the arms of God like a little child in trust.”
At some point in your life, you may be so weak that you can’t even pray, read the Bible, go to a Bible study, work, or really do anything. What do you do in those moments? You rest in the strength of the Lord—in his arms like a little child—and you trust.
Weakness can actually be a good thing in your life if it causes you to depend on God. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, Paul says, “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (NLT).
That’s the paradox of depending on God: The weaker you are, the more you depend on him. And the more you depend on him, the stronger you get.
Talk It Over
- Why is it difficult to admit or show weakness?
- How does your culture perpetuate the idea that you have to be strong all the time?
- What does it mean to depend on God’s strength? What would that look like in your life?
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