Be Made Strong

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV).

The grace of Jesus Christ has the power to change every aspect of my life. The more I dwell on His love―the more I seek His truth―the more I allow His love and truth to impact my life―the less I am like me, and the more I become like Him. However, the closer I grow in my relationship to Him the more I am aware of my lack of power to live a life that honors Him. The desire is there, but often His flawless perfection makes my own effort seem like a failure. When I experience feelings of inadequacy or failure in my life, surrendering to His life-changing power can make all the difference. If I allow my failure to define who I am, then I will remain weak, defeated, and a disappointment. But if I yield that failure to His refining process, my weakness is replaced by His strength. His power changes and perfects my life. I grow stronger in my relationship with Him. The failure which had once defined and defeated my life, is surrendered to His power. He controls what I am unable to control.

Without the standard of God's truth to work toward in my life, I will have no sense of failure. Without His standard, I will not understand the conviction with which He can change me. However, it is when I am growing in my relationship with Christ and seeking Him, that His standard convicts me. When I am convicted, there is hope, and a sense of failure can inspire me instead of defeating me. When I realize my weakness, I know that I need His power. Instead of wallowing in my sense of failure and running from His grace, I run to the Savior who has not only revealed my failure, but who also is the only answer for it. I constantly seek more of Him. I learn that His grace is greater than any failure or sin. His grace changes my life. His power overcomes my weakness. Instead of failure, I persevere and grow stronger spiritually. Living for Him then becomes the desire of my heart.

Are you also tired of failure defining who you are? Be committed and be diligent to seek Him and grow in His grace. “Let perseverance finish its work,” James writes, “so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4, NIV). If you allow the Holy Spirit to prune away those weak areas, you will know greater spiritual strength and abundance. You will be perfected by His grace and love. His holy shears, which prune and sometimes cut painfully, will one day bring forth the most joyful and abundant harvest. You will realize that in the weakness you have surrendered to His grace, He has made you strong.