All of us, from the oldest person alive down to the youngest baby catching her breath for the first time, know weakness. Weakness comes in many forms: failing bodies, wounded hearts, emotional anguish, relational strain, mental instability. We can’t escape it, and the truth is that weakness—no matter how it meets us—forces us into waiting. We have to wait for someone bigger than we are to fix what is broken, to right what is wrong. Although I don’t like it, I’m learning that weakness is actually a gift to me, because my weakness is a bridge to Jesus.
This is what threads throughout the whole of the Gospels: Jesus encounters people in their weakness and reveals his ability to fill the cavern between who they are and who they want to be. Consider the blind men who cried out to Jesus on the road for healing or the woman stooped over at the synagogue—it was their weakness and need that drew them to Jesus. The bleeding woman encountered Jesus because she needed a touch from someone greater than herself. Ultimately, it was her weakness that led her to him.
Weakness points us to our need for a Savior. The weaknesses that force us—that lead us—into waiting can be a blessing. God does not create evil, but he can allow weakness in our lives to lead us into a place of waiting where we are solely dependent upon him. This is usually an unwanted but beautiful gift. The gift of weakness is that it leads us to the only strong one. And his strength is enough for us. Enough for this day. Enough for this life.
More than enough, actually. It is all that we need.
Ann Swindell is the author of Still Waiting: Hope for When God Doesn’t Give You What You Want(Tyndale). Learn more at AnnSwindell.com and on Twitter at @AnnSwindell.
