Confounding the Mighty: Why Weakness is a Good Thing

Our culture tends to look at weakness as a negative trait. We do not respect those who appear weak; rather, we usually despise or pity them.

God begs to differ.

I read this morning that He uses the foolishness of preaching to save souls, and He uses the weak to confound the mighty. And that got me thinking.

Why do we cheer so heartily for an underdog? Why do we swell with pride when a special-needs child achieves some milestone? Why do we love it when the 'little man" shows up the jock?

Because it is beautiful when weakness wins. Weak people are supposed to lose, be last, and take whatever the strong people leave for them. Weak people are not expected to do anything awesome or exemplary because they are barely expected to survive.

But God has different ideas.

He CHOOSES weak people. He finds the unlikeliest and least promising people to turn the world upside down because He enjoys amazing strong people with what He can do through the weakest individuals.

So, if you find yourself weak today, or tomorrow, or you face a giant hurdle of weakness some day in the future, take quiet pleasure in the fact that, quite possibly, God is about to bring people to their knees because of how you handle the said weakness.

You can fight the weakness, or you can let Him have it. You can try to overcome your weakness by yourself, or you can simply admit that the situation, whatever you are facing, is too big for you to handle. In other words, you can choose to be a vessel that will confound the mighty. You can decide that God knows what He is doing, and even though it hurts, and it's not fair, and it's too much to deal with, He is going make something amazing happen with your piddly little weak self.

Why does God do this confounding of the mighty with weak people? He intends to remind humans that He can always do the impossible with whomever He chooses. Why else did God call a speech-impaired shepherd to lead millions of Jews out of Egyptian slavery to Canaan? How else does a harlot show up in Christ's lineage? Why in the world did He choose hotheaded fishermen, lowly publicans, and a bunch of women to spread the Gospel after His resurrection?

Because God can do anything with anyone. When He uses weak people to great things, He gets ALL the glory. Basically, He is showing us, once again, how incredibly BIG He really is.

So carry on, warriors of weakness! You are not alone.

For, in Christ, when we are weak, we are very strong.