When I Am Weak, Then Am I Strong

We live in a world that glorifies strength. Walk into any bookstore and you’ll find shelves filled with titles about confidence, independence, leadership, and having it all together. You won’t find many books titled Ten Steps to Weakness. The world tells us to get our ducks in a row—to look organized, established, and unshakeable. But if we’re honest, sometimes our ducks aren’t in a row. Some are missing. One feels like it’s on fire. And we suspect one may not even be a duck at all.

Spiritually, we can fall into the same trap. We serve. We smile. We say everything is fine. Yet inwardly we may be anxious, discouraged, exhausted, or battling something deeply personal. We quietly assume strong Christians don’t struggle. But Scripture tells a different story. Hebrews 11 lists names like Rahab, Gideon, Samson, David—flawed, fragile people who “out of weakness were made strong.” Their strength did not come from within; it came through faith.

Paul understood this personally. After receiving extraordinary revelations from the Lord, he was given a “thorn in the flesh.” We do not know exactly what it was, though Galatians hints it may have involved his eyesight. What we do know is that it made him weak. And three times he pleaded with God to remove it. Yet instead of removing the thorn, God gave him something greater: grace. “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Not grace that erases the trial, but grace that sustains through it.

Weakness has a purpose. It protects us from pride. It keeps us dependent. It reminds us that the power belongs to God and not to us. As Paul wrote, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” What looks like disqualification may actually be divine preparation. The place where you feel least capable may be the place Christ is most visible.

Even our Lord demonstrated this principle. At the cross, Jesus looked defeated. To the watching world, it appeared to be weakness. Yet that very moment secured the greatest victory in history. God often accomplishes His strongest work through what appears to be our weakest hour.

Weakness is not your disqualification. It is your invitation into the power of God.