The People God Uses

For twenty-nine years after I trusted Christ, I prayed for the Lord to make me stronger. It seemed like the right thing to do and many Christians pray that way now. The reality of the matter though is that most of us are too strong already. In fact, many pride themselves on their resolute determination to live "the Christian life." It's really good news when we realize that God is not looking for us to become stronger. Your Father wants you to recognize your weakness, because it’s when we come to the end of confidence in our own strength, and we see our weakness, that we’re at the place where Christ can take our lives and express himself through us.

Look at the subject in your own Bible. In 1 Corinthians 1:27, the Scripture tells us that God has chosen the weak, not the strong. Culture suggests that we need to be stronger but the biblical fact is that we are to unashamedly embrace our weakness.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, the Apostle Paul says that God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." In view of that fact, Paul went on to say, "Most gladly therefore I would rather boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient." He doesn’t need your strength or mine. The idea that we should pray for God to make us stronger simply is not Biblical. We need to embrace our weakness and realize that the Lord delights in using weak people who are willing to admit that we don’t have what it takes to live a lifestyle that honors him. When we yield ourselves, weakness and all, into his hands, His strength, then, is activated through our lives, and it is the life of Christ that is seen, and His life that is expressed, and not our own willpower and sheer determination.

You may see other Christians who seem to have it all together and seem to be very strong. Let me assure you that you don't know what's going on in their own minds and lives. Trust me, if they think that they're strong and have it all together, they are arrogant. Those most used by Him are those who know that apart from Him they can do nothing. So if you see yourself as weak, you're exactly the kind of person through whom Jesus will express His life. In fact, He is looking for people like you - people who know they don't stand a chance apart from His divine enablement.