Thursday, August 4, 2016

The Strength in My Weakness

I don't have a green thumb. It's not necessarily that everything I plant dies, but more that I lack the motivation to take care of my plants once they've been planted. Nonetheless, like most women, I like flowers and I want my yard to look like something out of Southern Living (currently, my grass hasn't been mowed in over 2 weeks and there are dead flowers on my porch...) so sometimes I get the urge to plant things. 

2 Corinthians 12:9


A couple of years ago, I planted four gardenias across the back of the house with the hope that my yard would be filled with their heavenly aroma all summer long. Well three out of four survived and I considered it a victory! Of the gardenias that survived, there is one that is significantly smaller than the others and it was planted a little too far over so it sort of gets in the way. I've considered just pulling it up because, honestly, it looks silly. But, this summer, God used that little bush to speak truth straight to my heart.

One day I discovered that my little runt had four beautiful blooms on it while the others had none. As I stood there admiring them, I was reminded that God isn't threatened by our weaknesses. In fact, His word says that it is through our weaknesses that His strength is made perfect (2 Corinthians 12:9). What I saw as a flimsy twig growing in the ground, begging me to mow it over, God saw as a strong plant, full of potential and worthy of all the beauty it was created to possess. I believe that's exactly how He sees each of us. When He places a calling on our lives, He equips us with everything we need. He fills in the gaps of our inadequacies with His perfect strength and creates something beautiful. If I had pulled that gardenia out of the ground, I would have robbed it of its purpose, never allowing its beauty to be revealed and I may have never learned this lesson. A lesson I so desperately need as I navigate God's plan for my life. 

2 Corinthians 12:9
  
The truth is sometimes I feel a lot like that gardenia, too small, too inadequate, too weak to make a difference. But, if I allow those thoughts to rule in my mind, I miss living out the purpose for which I was created and blessing others with my gifts. We can't let our weaknesses cripple us. Instead, we must turn to the one who's power is activated by our willingness not by our qualifications. God has a purpose and a plan for the smallest, the weakest and the most unlikely of us all. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, "God WILL make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful." 









But he said to me, “My grace i s sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 2 Corinthians 12:9