In today’s society, we are told to focus on our strengths, the things that we know we are good at. We try to forget our weaknesses or at least hide them so no one will see. But thats not what the Bible says. The Bible says to boast all the more gladly of our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 

Have you ever noticed that when we use our strengths and talents to succeed at something, we are the ones that are praised. But when success happens in the face of difficulty or seemingly impossible circumstances, we look to God with our praises.  I think that is because we knew that we could never accomplish those feats on our own.

God’s power is made perfect in weakness, because that is when He is praised.  When we once again realize that it is not my our works, but by His that we achieve our goals or dreams.

Take Abraham and Sarah for instance. God told Abraham that he would be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. But Abraham laughed and said, “Can I really become a father at 100 years old and Sarah at 90?” And yet, regardless of how old Abraham or Sarah was, God was true to His promise.

Or consider Moses, he led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt through signs and wonders.  He became a great leader while the Israelites wandered in the desert. But did you know that Moses wasn’t a good public speaker. When God called him to lead the people, Moses said, “But I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” And God’s reply was, “Who gives speech to mortals? Is it not I. Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.” But still Moses argued that he was incapable of what God was calling him to do, and so God allowed Aaron to be the spokesperson.

It wasn’t because Moses was incapable that God provided another speaker, it was because Moses did not believe that God could use him despite his weakness.

Thats where we struggle. We are afraid to make known our weaknesses, because we see them as holding us back. As a barrier between where we are and where we want to be.

But God created us with both strengths and weaknesses.  And it is those weaknesses that we can use to show God’s true power. Yes, our strengths are gifts from God, but they can also hold us back from being used by God.  When we allow God to use our weaknesses, our faith is restored, and we begin to rely on Christ and not on ourselves.

Have you ever felt like God was leading you to do something out of your comfort zone? Or maybe you find yourself thinking what if I could do this or that. What if I could change the world? But then we become realistic and decide that those things are impossible, because we either aren’t good enough or our weaknesses will cause us to fail.

Thats where God is trying to intervene. He puts things on our hearts and minds for a purpose. He wants us to accomplish the impossible. He wants us to exceed our dreams.

But the reason we don’t is because we don’t allow ourselves to be available. We may think we are willing for God to use us. But problem is that we don’t make ourselves available for Him to use us.

Consider Jonah. God called Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh and announce that their city would be destroyed due to their wickedness. But instead Jonah ran away. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He didn’t want to proclaim God’s word in that city. And when he finally did, he was angry that God chose to save the people of Nineveh.

Isn’t that the way it is with us. We get scared or we don’t want to do what we know God is calling us to do. And sometimes when we do follow through, the results aren’t what we wanted.  But God is so much bigger than our desires, and He is more powerful than our weaknesses.

So, today I ask you. What is God laying on your heart? How does He want to use you?  And if you aren’t sure, consider the many opportunities around you.  Mission trips, especially international, has the ability to change our way of thinking and inspire us to make an even greater impact on the world.