"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." - C.S. Lewis
Of the most important lessons I have learnt in my life, one of them is the importance of being and remaining weak. You may think, but why? Is not the whole point of discipleship becoming strong and powerful for Christ? And this is where many people stumble- they think that they are too weak, not strong enough, to become Christ's disciples. I tell you, the weaker you are, the better. The lower you go, the higher you can go for Christ.
I refer you once again to Paul. You would think that the greatest of apostles would have been strong and powerful in the faith. Yet he said, "...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." 1 Tim. 1:15. And again, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Cor. 12:9. John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30. Jesus Himself said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:3.
Why is it so important to be weak? So that Christ can be strong in us. "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9. You may think, why can't both Jesus and us be strong at the same time? But it cannot be so. Because the moment that we start to think that we are strong, that we can start managing things together with Him, or even worse, without Him, then we have fallen to the old sin called pride. Because in truth and reality, we are never strong. We may think that we are, but it is really an illusion cast by the devil. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jer. 17:9. Our hearts are really very weak, very sinful, and very prone to wander. And anything that we can accomplish is really God working through us. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:13. So if we start thinking we are strong, then we are deceiving ourselves, and really trying to steal credit from God.
And there are more consequences. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Jer. 17:5. Contrast this verse with Jer. 17:7-8. The moment we start thinking we are strong, we have unknowingly already begun to depart from the Lord. We have already slowly begun to cease depending on Him. The moment we cease to look to God fully for strength, and look even that tiny bit to ourselves for strength, then we have fallen and missed out on God's glory that could have been. It was indeed fitting that the C.S. Lewis quote above was sent to me by a friend and made a great difference, during a time when I was beginning to think that I could go the way on my own. No, we cannot. And even if we could, God never intended it to be that way. He intended for us to be mere weak vessels, so that His power and glory, which is far, far, far beyond what our greatest efforts are made of, can be revealed through us, and accomplish the mighty things that He intends.
To borrow an analogy I read in a book, think of God as a master surgeon. He can only accomplish His mighty works if His instruments, us, have no will of our own and are willing to submit totally to the works of the Master. He certainly would have many problems with instruments which tried to do things on their own.
I have learned how weak I really am, and realised that without God's guidance, as well as help from others, I would so quickly go astray. And indeed, the greatest revelations and experiences of God in my life have come when I was at my weakest. By God's grace I am learning day by day how to put aside my pride and be content to be weak, so that God can be strong. And it is such a joy to be able to release the burden of living to the God who alone is able to direct our paths! I pray that one day all of us can say earnestly with Paul,
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor. 12:10
Of the most important lessons I have learnt in my life, one of them is the importance of being and remaining weak. You may think, but why? Is not the whole point of discipleship becoming strong and powerful for Christ? And this is where many people stumble- they think that they are too weak, not strong enough, to become Christ's disciples. I tell you, the weaker you are, the better. The lower you go, the higher you can go for Christ.
I refer you once again to Paul. You would think that the greatest of apostles would have been strong and powerful in the faith. Yet he said, "...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." 1 Tim. 1:15. And again, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Cor. 12:9. John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30. Jesus Himself said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:3.
Why is it so important to be weak? So that Christ can be strong in us. "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9. You may think, why can't both Jesus and us be strong at the same time? But it cannot be so. Because the moment that we start to think that we are strong, that we can start managing things together with Him, or even worse, without Him, then we have fallen to the old sin called pride. Because in truth and reality, we are never strong. We may think that we are, but it is really an illusion cast by the devil. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jer. 17:9. Our hearts are really very weak, very sinful, and very prone to wander. And anything that we can accomplish is really God working through us. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:13. So if we start thinking we are strong, then we are deceiving ourselves, and really trying to steal credit from God.
And there are more consequences. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Jer. 17:5. Contrast this verse with Jer. 17:7-8. The moment we start thinking we are strong, we have unknowingly already begun to depart from the Lord. We have already slowly begun to cease depending on Him. The moment we cease to look to God fully for strength, and look even that tiny bit to ourselves for strength, then we have fallen and missed out on God's glory that could have been. It was indeed fitting that the C.S. Lewis quote above was sent to me by a friend and made a great difference, during a time when I was beginning to think that I could go the way on my own. No, we cannot. And even if we could, God never intended it to be that way. He intended for us to be mere weak vessels, so that His power and glory, which is far, far, far beyond what our greatest efforts are made of, can be revealed through us, and accomplish the mighty things that He intends.
To borrow an analogy I read in a book, think of God as a master surgeon. He can only accomplish His mighty works if His instruments, us, have no will of our own and are willing to submit totally to the works of the Master. He certainly would have many problems with instruments which tried to do things on their own.
I have learned how weak I really am, and realised that without God's guidance, as well as help from others, I would so quickly go astray. And indeed, the greatest revelations and experiences of God in my life have come when I was at my weakest. By God's grace I am learning day by day how to put aside my pride and be content to be weak, so that God can be strong. And it is such a joy to be able to release the burden of living to the God who alone is able to direct our paths! I pray that one day all of us can say earnestly with Paul,
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor. 12:10
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