Transport for Christ

There are many people who, like me, mistake self-confidence for faith in Christ. We’re proud of our physical strength and health, our sharp minds, our social abilities, our ability to lead and control, and our successes.

In this way we tend to take credit for things we could never produce or achieve on our own. We forget that every cell in our body and every neuron in our brain is dependent on God. We forget that every success we’ve achieved has depended on forces we could never control, and we forget that all our natural abilities are gifts from God. Taking too much credit always leads to placing too much trust in yourself.

Health, productivity, and success should produce deeper gratitude and worship, not self-reliance and pride.

When you live self-reliantly, and the unexpected, the unplanned, the unwanted, or the painful comes your way, you panic. You panic because suddenly you’re faced with your smallness, weakness, and vulnerability.

Suffering and the weakness that results will expose the danger of self-reliance and the delusion of independence. While incredibly painful, it can be a good and redemptive tool in the hands of our loving God.

Weakness simply demonstrates what has been true all along: we are completely dependent on God for life and breath and everything else. Perhaps we curse physical weakness because we are uncomfortable with placing our trust completely in God.

The weakness that is now a part of my regular life has been a huge instrument of God’s grace. It exposed idols of pride and self-glory I did not know were there.

Weakness is not what you and I should be afraid of. We should fear our delusion of strength. Strong people tend not to reach out for help, because they think they don’t need it. When you have been proven weak, you tap into the endless resources of divine power that are yours in Christ.

Weakness was not the end for me, but a new beginning, because weakness provides the context in which true strength is found. In my weakness, I have known strength in Christ that I never knew before.