“Experiencing weakness gives us access to two things we can get no other way: proven faith and supernatural strength.”- Banning Liebscher
“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”- 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV)
In Chapter 5 (“In Over Your Head . . . and Loving It”) of Rooted, Banning Liebscher states God’s root-building process exhausts our natural strength, abilities, and energy. Put another way, weakness is just part of the deal.
However, most of us don’t care to admit weakness. Consequently, we try to avoid it at all costs. Yet, it’s impossible to avoid weakness as you follow Jesus. Not only that, the Bible puts forth a particular stance toward weakness. Everyone from Paul to Peter to James uses words like joy, rejoice, and delight to describe the appropriate response. Thus, the Bible’s attitude runs completely counter to our natural attitude toward weakness. And the Bible turns that attitude on its head!
Therefore, Paul, Peter, and James don’t discuss tolerating weakness or enduring it with gritted teeth. As Banning underscores, experiencing weakness provides the only access to proven faith and supernatural strength. Furthermore, Pastor Liebscher cites Hebrews 11:6 as one of the most popular verses on faith. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (NIV).
In addition, Banning notes, we applaud that verse and highlight it in our Bibles. But do we stand on that verse when our situation requires faith? The author explains:
“We love the concept of faith and pleasing God with faith; we just don’t like being put into positions where this faith is required. Faith is proven at the point of our weakness and emptiness, the point where all is lost if God doesn’t show up. That’s a place we avoid and don’t naturally love to be.”
Today’s question: How has experiencing weakness given you access to proven faith and supernatural strength? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The God who raises the dead”
