Power in weakness

I am sure if you have any familiarity with the Bible that you have read or have heard before that we should not boast unless we boast about our Father in heaven. I came across an interesting passage this evening that talked about another way to boast that was okay. Did you know that it is okay to boast about your weaknesses?

Here is the scripture I came across.

2 Corinthians 11:30-31: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

This is such a new and tough thing to really wrap my mind around. I say that for a few reasons. One of them being-I knew that boasting was wrong-but I never thought about it as being a lie. (in the wrong ways) When we boast about our weaknesses we are not lying. It is honestly such a weird and cool concept all in one. Where there is weakness-there is strength.

Here is some some more scripture that ties into this.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10:  The Lord says, "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 Chris't power may rest on me.

God's love is enough for us-and his power is made perfect in weakness. When we boast about our weaknesses God's power is being made perfect. I can't stress it enough, it's absolutely okay if you mess up, and have weaknesses. Both you and me are nowhere near perfect and never will be until we are in heaven someday. If you are really struggling with some things, I encourage you to find a friend that will listen to you and that you trust and just let all those troubles out. It may not help fix the problem, but I promise you that it will make a difference. You will feel so much better. As humans we long for people to share experiences with. We were not made to be alone or isolated from everyone. We were made to love one another and to live for relationships. If you do not have someone in your life who you can talk to about your weaknesses I encourage you to pray about it. Also-do not forget that God is always right there to talk to about it as well. I know that it is tough, because you don't want to throw a pity party, but I can assure you that there are people out there who love you and who care for you and want what is best for you. People will listen to you! God will make those encounters possible. I can attest to that. This morning I got coffee with a friend and we met up just so we could talk about things and so that he could see where I was right now in my life. Before that, I had an encounter with a friend that I was not expecting at all. It was totally random. I was sitting there waiting and a friend came up to me and genuinely asked how I was doing. Out of nowhere. That friend didn't have to go out of there way to come check on me to see how I was, but they did and it lifted me up. The same thing happened the night before. I was at a coffee shop minding my own business after a tough day, and another friend came up to me and just sat and talked with me for awhile. It's the little things!!! You never really know where someone is at mentally, spiritually, or emotionally if you don't go out of your way to check in on that person. You do not even have to talk about those three things, it can be literally anything, any conversation can make someones day. Honestly, yesterday was horrible, but having a friend go out of their way to have a 5 minute conversation gave me so much life. When you step out of your comfort zone and push aside your personal agenda for someone else, it is amazing what can happen. It's tough because you need to sacrifice things in your life sometimes, but if you feel like you just don't have enough energy for extra relational things then you are forgetting one thing. God gives us strength like no other and you have to trust in that. There have been countless experiences in my life when I felt like I had nothing left to give, but when I had to give everything I had, God gave me the strength and the ability to do that.

I hope that you never feel alone-you are never alone. If you read this and thought about what I said and realized you don't have those types of people in your life, then reach out to me. I would love to talk to anyone who needs a friend to be there for them. For real, reach out to me sometime if you are interested-you have nothing to be scared of and nothing to lose.

You are loved.