Guest Blog - Boasting in Strength? Or Weakness?

Meet Jenifer Christenbury. The work that the Lord has been doing in her life as of recent is undeniable to the outside world. A heart to worship. A smile that encourages others. A passion to pray for others. And a gift to write. Jenifer has just joined our leadership team in the last month, and we are so proud and glad to have her be a part of what God is doing here at ELEVATION. Read below her guest blog (and trust me you will be reading much more from her) and feel free to comment to encourage and dialogue. I've never been so hopeful in all of my life for the work God is doing here through His Holy Spirit!

pcraig

Guest Blog ////////

"But He said unto 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 weakness, so that Christ's power may rest in me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Lately, I’ve been going deeper in my relationship with God than ever before, and in turn He’s opened my eyes to so much around me that I’ve selfishly been so unaware of. One thing that I pray each day is that He’ll allow me to see with His eyes and feel with His heart. In doing this, He truly has broken my heart for His people, especially for the weaknesses that are tearing apart so many that I come in contact with on a daily basis – family, friends, youth, strangers, and even myself. Weakness is something that we, as a fallen humanity, are relentlessly battling to overcome, and each morning we wake up and make a conscious decision to how we let this battle affect us. We choose to both doubt God’s power and give in to our weakness, believing that there is no other way; or we choose to believe in God’s power and in turn make our weakness surrender to us.

As God always does when I’m searching, He led me to an affirming passage of scripture – a simple, well-known verse I’d heard many times, but seemed so much more powerful this time around. In 2 Corinthians, Paul is writing about the visions and revelations he had received from the Lord. Even though he received all these wonderful revelations from God, he chose instead to humbly boast about his weakness. Rather than going on and on about how “spiritual” he is, and all he’s doing for God’s kingdom, he’s bragging about his weakness! Unexpected, huh?

As the passage continues, to prevent Paul from becoming proud, he was given a thorn in his flesh (the thorn is a symbol for an illness or chronic physical condition that is unknown). Regardless of the case, the point is that the “thorn” was an unceasing problem that took authority over, and was a hindrance to, Paul’s life and ministry. We all have our personal “thorns” in our lives that represent weakness - lust, rejection, jealousy, pornography, pride, gossip, homosexuality, lying, etc. – and these can hinder us from going further in our walk with God. Paul continually prayed for the removal of the thorn, but God refused, and each time He said, “My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Think about it.

We repent and pray that God will forgive our sins, and He does! But, that doesn’t mean that we might not still be tempted by the same sin that we struggle with the most. Those same sins are dangled in our faces daily to keep us humbled, reminding us of where we came from. God can’t show us His power, without showing us that we are so weak without it. When we’re aware of His power over our lives -- that’s when we’ll win the battle over our weakness. But, apart from God’s power, we’re still as weak to give into these sins as we always were.

For example, on a daily basis I constantly face the spirit of rejection because of experiences I’ve dealt with in the past. For years, this fear of not being good enough, of being rejected, has followed me around no matter where I go, and I’ve constantly asked God to take it yet it’s still there. I’m not afraid to be vulnerable and “boast” in my weakness, because through this, God has shown me that the struggle will always exist, but when I’m starting to go down that path, I submit my weakness to Him and He gives me the power to turn and run in the opposite direction.

Weakness limits even the best of us; it gives us boundaries and fences us in. Weakness says, “You can’t do it on your own. Give in. Give up.” As we recognize these limits, we begin to depend more on God for our success rather than on our own talents. Our limitations not only help us to develop into the image of Christ, but also deepen our worship, because in admitting them, we affirm God’s strength.

This is all the more reason not to fear our weakness, but instead to embrace it. For it is when we are at our lowest point, that God is lifted up highest. It is when we are most humbled, that He is most glorified through us. It is when we are weakest, that He is made strong in us. We cannot yet receive the true strength that God has promised us until we let ourselves reach the lowest point of vulnerability and realize that apart from Him, we are nothing. And it is then, and only then, when we are emptied of everything belonging to ourselves, that He is able to fill us up with His strength and power.

In your vulnerability, follow Paul’s example in 2 Corinthians… boast gladly about your weakness! And yes, he says gladly - not bitterly, or cynically. Boast cheerfully, happily, and willingly. Because being weak is normal. It’s okay. In fact, it’s ideal. So, when weakness knocks you to your knees, sit there and pray. And even when it lays you out flat on your face, lay there at the feet of Jesus. And while you’re at His feet, open your hands and give Him your weakness, and with these same open hands, pick up the strength that He has promised you.

With love,

Jenifer