Helene found that sharing her weaknesses allowed for Jesus to share His strength.
"Three times, I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he 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 12:8-10 (NIV)
I stepped into the church in January 2000. I had believed all of my life but was not part of a fellowship for many years. Right away, I felt like the black sheep. I was the one with the tainted story. The faulty one that did not have it together. I felt that everybody else lived perfect lives, and I was the only one confused, struggling and falling.
And then it became interesting. Very soon, I felt the Holy Spirit speak. Every time I encountered something in myself that I felt shame about — like my identity in being liked, my self-esteem based upon my looks or my pride in being intelligent — I almost physically felt the Holy Spirit poking my shoulder, prompting me to: say it!
Share what was going on. Tell other people what I was struggling with. Dare to be vulnerable. Let in the light. Be open. Don't pretend you are stronger or more put together than you are. Jesus basically told me to let the whole world see my weakness.
In the beginning, I did not understand why. I obeyed because it would bug me if I didn't. But slowly, things started to change. I began to feel more at ease with myself. I felt more free to receive Jesus's love just as I was.
But I also saw a change in the people around me. It became easy for me to connect with people and earn their trust. And the freedom I felt to show my weakness became freedom for the people I talked to. They would open up about things that were hurting — and find the courage to seek healing in Jesus.
What I perceived as my weakness was actually Jesus working in HIS strength.
On the Cross, Jesus looked weaker than ever. It seemed like everything was lost, and in what looked like the ultimate defeat, He died.
But that weakness was actually His strength to go through the pain and suffering for our salvation.
We want so badly to get to the Easter Sunday in our lives; the times that feel like strength and power — like we have it all together. And we underestimate that suffering and weakness is where Jesus meets us. That in our weakness, when we dare to share it, people around us also get access to His power.
Many of us walk around and hide our weaknesses. We live in a world that tells us weakness makes us weak and useless. We have to have it all together to be good enough and loveable. This creeps into our churches as well! But when we surrender our weakness to Jesus and let Him meet us where we are, He can work His power in and through us. And that is GOOD NEWS for the world we live in!
So, I want to encourage you to walk in the footsteps of Paul. Share your weakness and how Jesus is with you — and trust that people around you will experience His resurrection power through it.