The Strength of Weakness: Spiritual Logic

By Bruce Atkinson

Special To Virtueonline

www.virtueonline.org

February 17, 2025 

"My grace is sufficient for you,

for My power is made perfect in weakness."

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

stand in His strength alone;

the arm of flesh will fail you,

ye dare not trust your own.

-        George Duffield, Jr.

“Our weakness is a fundamental characteristic of our creature-hood.

We delude ourselves, as did Peter, if we think that we have any strength

of our own.  Even without reckoning with sin, the human constitution

is frail by divine design.  We were always meant to be reliant on God and should have been content to remain so. ”

– Roger Salter

“As we grow spiritually, our sense of unworthiness grows, not our sense of entitlement.  In other words, the closer we get to perfection, the more aware we become regarding how far away we are yet from that standard which is Christ.  Perfection, after all, requires the utmost in humility.”

-        Bruce Atkinson

Preface:

I have just listened to an old video of the venerable J.I. Packer speak briefly on the value of weakness.  Packer was always inspiring.  In this case, his words inspired me to finish a teaching essay on this topic that I started many years ago.

It almost goes without saying that all kinds of weakness are found in Christians, no less than in any other person.  Being a Christian does not make us immune to weaknesses, illnesses, or to normal life difficulties.   In terms of our culture’s way of defining strength, it seems that our faith does not often yield benefits in this world.  We fail at tasks, we get sick, we have accidents, and we suffer in all the ways that human beings suffer.  In delving more deeply into this issue, beginning with Paul in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, have discovered many spiritual positives embedded (and often hidden) in our weaknesses and difficulties.  In this teaching essay, I have outlined some of these spiritual benefits.

Principles: 

I.   AWARENESS OF OUR OWN WEAKNESS ALLOWS US TO PERCEIVE  GOD’S POWER MORE CLEARLY.

"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show

that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

- 2 Corinthians 4:7

God is sovereign and He is so great, powerful, wonderful, and loving that it cannot be otherwise that His choices and actions will result in His further glorification.  “For from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be glory forever.”  (Romans 11:36)   Therefore, an important purpose of human existence is to provide evidence of this truth, that is, evidence of God's glory.  “Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)   Before Jesus healed one particular blind man, He was asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him.”  (John 9:2-3)

When we succeed at any good work through our trusting in God, in spite of, or even because of our weaknesses and difficulties, God gets greater glory.   Our success-in-weakness reflects God's choosing and God's power.  If we succeeded on our own merits, because of our own strengths and abilities, then God would not be adequately credited— even though He created us and gave us our abilities in the first place ("A man can receive only what is given him from heaven." - John 3:27).   But when we are in any way successful, we egotistical humans certainly do like to take the credit— far more than is appropriate.  And that is spiritual theft.

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things —and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.  It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written:  "Let him who boasts … boast only in the Lord." (1 Cor 1:27-29, Jer 9:24)

God has frequently used weak instruments to accomplish great results:  the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:15), five barley loaves and two fishes (John 6:9), a man who thought of himself as useless and no speaker (Moses), an impetuous man who denied Christ three times (Simon Peter), a self-righteous man who vigorously persecuted the early church (Saul of Tarsus, later to be named Paul).   God seems to prefer “lost causes.”  He also prefers to make great and wondrous things happen from small, apparently insignificant beginnings.   Remember the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32 and Jesus’ own humble birth in a stable.

In the famous Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 ("Blessed are the…, for they shall …"), notice that the meek inherit the earth and the poor-in-spirit receive the kingdom of heaven.  These are strange but powerful messages that do not fit the ways of this world.  Jesus seems to be saying this:  the strong of this world try to take the earth by force, but their power is nothing compared to God's omnipotence, and in God’s time He will take it from them and give it to whom He chooses, to those who trust in God rather than in themselves.

God's ultimate justice will be a great surprise to many.  Those in "high places" in this life will exchange position with those in "low places" (see Matthew 18:4, 19:30, 20:16, 25-28; Mark 10:42-45; Luke 14:10, 18:14, 22:26; James 4:10).   Compared to the masters of this world, the faithful servants will receive the greater glory—eternally.   This world, seemingly based on "the survival of the fittest," will be turned upside-down.   The eternal value of humility can be expected to affect all the people who are intellectually and physically "challenged."  I expect that women, ethnic minorities, the poor, the homeless, the depressed, the addicted, the ugly, the rejected, and all the "have-nots" of this world are especially advantaged in the spiritual area.   These are the people who are more likely to perceive the truth of their sin, their powerlessness, and their need for God, and they are ones more likely to open the door wide when our Lord knocks!

Those who more aware of their inadequacies and sins are also more likely to appreciate forgiveness when they get it.  For whomever is forgiven much, loves much (Luke 7:36-50).   If you are on the bottom now, do not despair, it is an advantage in the Kingdom!

However, if you are proud of your abilities and if you insist on being successful according this world's standards, if you are self-promoting and seek to be a “big shot,” then you are forfeiting eternal treasures.

II.    AWARENESS OF OUR OWN WEAKNESS ALLOWS US TO ACCESS GOD’S POWER MORE EASILY.

“Without divine assistance, I cannot succeed.  With it, I cannot fail." 

– attributed to Abraham Lincoln

Are you “with it”?  If you see yourself as weak, then you have made a good beginning!  Our frailty reminds us of our complete dependence on God.  We are most likely to look up when we have hit bottom.  When we see this truth (our total dependence on God), then it turns our hearts and minds toward Him.  And since anything that brings us closer to Him is to our ultimate and immediate benefit, then it follows that our frailty is a very good thing.  If each of us were strong and self-sufficient, who would turn to God at all?

There is a song by folk singer Jesse Winchester that I like (especially his duet with Claire Lynch on her 2009 album Whatcha Gonna Do).   Here are the lyrics: 

That's What Makes You Strong

If you love somebodyThen that means you need somebodyAnd if you need somebodyThat's what makes you weakBut if you know you're weakAnd you know you need someoneO it's a funny thingThat's what makes you strong

And to trust somebodyIs to be disappointedIt's never what you wantedAnd it happens every timeBut if you're the trusting kindThis don't even cross your mindO it's a funny thingThat's what makes you strong

Chorus:

That's what makes you strongThat's what gives you powerThat's what lets the meek come sit beside the kingThat's what lets us smileIn our final hourThat's what moves our soulsAnd that's what makes us sing

© Jesse Winchester , 1977

There is a huge difference between self-reliance and trust in another.  And only God is truly trustworthy.  In 2nd Chronicles 14, king Asa of Judah was under attack from a huge Ethiopian army.  But instead of relying on military strategy or running and hiding, he turned to the Lord instead.  He confessed his weakness and dependence on God, and asked Him to protect His own good name (2 Chron 14:11): “ Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty.  Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army.  Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”  And of course, the Lord responded to Asa’s prayer and God’s people easily prevailed.  Likewise, each of us at times face problems too great for us to handle, perhaps by divine design.  It tests our faith; do we trust our own resources, do we panic, or do we pray?

Often it is only when we are aware of the danger that faces us that we consciously seek the help we need.  And there is no other refuge from the danger than the Lord.  The One who loves us is omnipotent.  It is only His strength that gives us safety and that inner peace that worldly security cannot provide.

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

The Lord protects the simple-hearted; when I was in great need, He saved me.

(Psalm 116:5-6)

“Peace I leave with you:  MY peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” 

(John 14:27)

Religious legalists and extreme Arminians tend to believe too much in their own power and their own ability to do right.  Such persons need to accept more fully the realities of human limitation and susceptibility to sin.  Humans only have power and freedom of choice to the extent that God allows it.  But we must admit, to this point, He seems to have chosen to give us quite a bit of "rope."   We do have choices.  God will not coerce anyone into heaven.  But are we strong enough to choose right?  Not necessarily: what a dilemma.  “O wretched man that I am!  Who shall deliver me from this body of death? 

I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  (Romans 7:24)  

The good news is that there is a wonderful way out of our own powerlessness, and that is through Christ's forgiveness and His power to cause us to overcome our own sinful tendencies.  As we accept the truth of our own weakness, we are far more likely to look to God for His strength and salvation from whatever evil or difficult circumstances come against us.

“Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.”   I do not know who first said this, but history has shown this saying to be true.  God is most obviously present and active in my life when I can no longer handle it all by myself.   The following was written by David C. McCasland (in Our Daily Bread):

      Douglas Burton-Christie decided to walk the last few miles to his spiritual retreat at an Egyptian monastery.  He stepped off the bus in a small village and confidently set out across the desert.  A few hours later, he realized that he was lost.   Instead of arriving at the monastery self-assured and proud, he eventually found his way there humbled and grateful to be alive.   He said, “I gradually came to understand one of the most important things the desert had to teach me:  to enter the desert is to relinquish the illusion of control.”

     Being in charge of our own destiny is a fantasy we cling to.  But when God takes us through a “desert experience,” we are reminded that our only hope rests in Him.

     After 40 years in the wilderness, with the Promised Land finally in sight, Moses challenged God’s people to remember a lesson from those years:  “He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna…,  that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone;  but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3).

Again, the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians makes it clear that we should value our weaknesses:

            But [Christ] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak; then I am strong.   (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Although God is truly omnipotent, it amazes me that the Lord would say that His power is manifested more perfectly in weakness than in strength — not only despite weakness, but when it is embedded in weakness.   I think that part of our difficulty with this concept is associated with the human tendency to define power in terms of physical force (or political power backed by physical enforcement).   I recall the prophetic declaration of the Lord through Zechariah (4:6): “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel:  ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”  

It is a much greater thing when God’s power is manifested invisibly or in a totally different way than how human beings like to manifest power.  We like overwhelming force, but God operates with subtlety and wisdom.  He uses overwhelming force when He so desires, but it is not His normal modus operandi.

III.  “SON OF MAN”:   CHRIST’S HUMANITY, GOD’S ‘WEAKNESS’

The prime example of God’s deep wisdom is to be found in the simplicity of “Christ crucified.”  In Christ, God chose to experience human weakness, injustice, rejection, shame, pain and death, none of which He deserved.

“Where is the wise man?  Where is the scholar?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”   (1 Corinthians 1:20-25)

Even Jesus was tempted, even Jesus sweated blood while struggling with inner conflicts, even Jesus was rejected and betrayed by those he loved, and even Jesus could be killed, and was.  Yet He was perfect;  He was God in completely human manifestation;  He did not have to suffer and die,  but He allowed Himself to be weak like us so that He could represent us and thereby save all those who would follow Him.

By choosing to be made temporarily weak, fully identifying with us, He made it possible for humans to realize that our own weakness can be made likewise temporary, through our belief in Christ and our identification with Him.

“In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering.”  (Hebrews 2:10)   “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses... and because He himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who are likewise afflicted.”  (Hebrews 4:15, 2:18)

While the storm was fiercely blowing,

While the sea was wildly flowing,

Angry wind and angry billow

Only rocked the Savior’s pillow;

Jesus slept.

But when sudden grief was rending

Human hearts in sorrow bending;

When He saw the sisters weeping

Where the brother’s form was sleeping,

Jesus wept.

-author unknown (perhaps C. H. Fowler)

“… Christ Jesus:   Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

     Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:6-11)

IV.  “SON OF GOD”:  CHRIST’S DIVINITY, HUMANITY’S ‘STRENGTH’

Of course, along with his humanity, which allows him to fully identify with us, we also recognize and need Christ's divinity — His complete unity with God.   Together, the combined human and divine natures give Him the right to both judge and save us.  His divine nature— the sovereignty, holiness, omnipotence, authority, perfect righteousness, and ultimate wisdom— make it possible for us to rest in Him, to cease to worry and fret about our own weakness.  I CAN do all things required of me— through Christ, who is my strength (Phil 4:13).  And, surely, if Christ is the one who is really doing it, then all things will work for my ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

To the extent that we choose Christ in every aspect our lives, it enables Him to empower us— to provide inner peace and to allow us to do good deeds in His Name.   Then it becomes clear that the goodness and power is not really from us.

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us [note the past tense] with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Ephesians 2:6-10)

Indeed, no one can boast!  The only real self-power we have is the negative power to slow down our own progress.  That is why self/flesh must be "reckoned dead," as Paul wrote, in order to minimize this negative power.

But we can choose to let God be in our lives daily, hourly, and moment-by-moment.  We can “pray without ceasing” and "take every thought captive to Christ," checking to see if it is true or false (“testing the spirits”).  We must resist the old thinking that does not square with the truth, and resist all discouraging thoughts (“resist the devil and he will flee from you”).   Then, increasingly, God’s strength will reign in us… rather than our weakness.

     Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves:  Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul;   through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.   Amen.    

(Collect from the Book of Common Prayer)

REQUEST AND RESPONSE

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things,

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for,

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered,

And I am among men, most richly blessed.

   This is also known as The Prayer of an Unknown Confederate Soldier and A Creed for the Disabled.  It is exhibited on a bronze plaque found in the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Bruce Atkinson is a practicing psychologist and Christian counselor in the Atlanta area.  He earned a PhD in clinical psychology and MA in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary; he also received an MS in research psychology from Illinois State University and a BA from Beloit College, WI.  He is a USAF Veteran (medic) who served in Vietnam.  He is also a member of the Anglican Church in North America and is Moderator and a contributor to virtueonline.org.