by Shayla Asselin
...for when I am weak, then am I strong.
II Corinthians 12:10
I sat down to write this blog post. After staring at the blinking caret for far too long, I thought, “I have nothing.” I revisited some old thoughts, read some more scriptures, asked God to drop a little nugget my way...then went right back to staring at my blank document. Again, I thought, “I have nothing.” I didn’t have a catchy quote, a fascinating story, a word of encouragement...nothing. All I had was nothing. Then I thought, “Maybe nothing is all I need.”
Sometimes, I get this idea that I have to have it all together or, at the very least, look like I do. You can’t see my weakness. You can’t know I forgot to do my devotional reading one day last week. You can’t know I’ve cried more times in the last 12 months than I have my entire life put together. You can’t know that I have three loads of laundry waiting to be folded on our guest bed. You can’t know that I have a tendency to procrastinate. You can’t know I struggle. You can’t know I’ve failed. You can’t know that sometimes all I have is nothing to offer you.
But here’s the thing: I know I’m human. I know you’re human. You know I’m human. You know you’re human. So, why do we ever pretend we’re perfect?
For the sake of connection, we have to realize that perfection is not relatable. When someone tells us they’re struggling and we respond with “ Hey, I’ve been there.” or maybe, “Hey, I’m there right now. Let’s grow through this together.” it opens up the door to evangelistic opportunities, friendships, and testimonies.
In II Corinthians 12:9, God tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Every time I bring my weaknesses to God, they are met with grace and He gives me the strength to grow. There are many examples in the Bible of people who did not celebrate their weakness; but, rather, used their weakness as a testimony of God’s strength that gave them power to overcome.
What if we showed ourselves some audacious grace? Instead of trying to package our imperfect lives with some pretty wrapping paper and a large bow, what if we just took our “nothing” to God. The very world we live in today is a powerful testimony of God’s ability to use nothing to make something beautiful. “God can do a lot with a little.”
Note: This blog post is only referring to our human imperfections or weaknesses. In this blog post, willful acts of sin are not to be confused with weaknesses.
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