God Can Even Use Our Weaknesses
December 4th, 2007
When I was a young boy, I loved to hear stories and watch movies about superheroes. Even now I would admit that I have often dreamed of what it would be like if I had their super powers. What would I do if I could fly anywhere I wanted? How would I put my powers to use if I had super-human strength or x-ray vision?
Unfortunately, I don’t find myself with such extraordinary powers. Chances are, you are the same way as well. But you and I do share at least one thing in common with these superheroes. You see, both humans and superheroes have weaknesses.
This was always troubling to me, that even the great Superman, who could leap tall buildings in a single bound, was rendered powerless when he came in contact with Kryptonite. Other heroes had weaknesses that were a little more subtle. Perhaps they battled with pride, or were tempted by the love of a beautiful girl.
The truth is that we all have weaknesses, and sometimes a great many weaknesses. I wish I could say that the extent of my weaknesses involved making sure that my house was free of Kryptonite. Sometimes we feel overpowered by our weaknesses, like there’s very little we can do or accomplish. We often go so far as to let our weaknesses actually overshadow our strengths.
Even those men and women that we would call the heroes of the Bible struggled with their own weaknesses. After all, no one’s perfect. Think for a moment about all of the men and women that God used to do great things. Moses had trouble speaking in front of people, yet God used him to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelite people out of Egypt. Shortly after God used Noah to save his family from the great flood, Noah got drunk in his vineyard. David, who was called a man after God’s own heart, was also a murderer and an adulterer.
Now that’s not to say that we can go out and sin as much as we want and God will still use us. Instead, the point is that God is in the business of using cracked vessels, as long as they learn from their mistakes and live in faithfulness to him. When we are able to be used by God, flaws and blemishes and all, what a picture we’re painting of our God! Paul has this in mind in 2 Corinthians 4:7 when he says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
The “treasure” Paul is speaking of here is the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, and when he speaks here of clay jars, he’s talking about us. In other words, we may not be much to look at. We may have our weaknesses. We may only be as useful as some old clay pot, but when God uses us to bring his message of salvation to the world, we can carry out a great work. After all, Paul says, we’re not showing the world our own power, but the power of God, even to use damaged vessels.
Entry Filed under: Will's Blog