Why I'm Glad to be a Weakling

I think I've always had an overactive sense of shame and guilt. At times, my perception of the Lord has been that of a Father who is disappointed in me and frustrated with my weakness. I have come to understand that God does not see me as I currently am, but as the eternal being that I was, that I am, and that I will be. So it's me (and other humans), not Him, who is surprised or flustered when I fall short. While I see weakness as what's holding me back from growing, He sees it as the very thing that's helping me grow.

For me it was a stunning revelation to learn that God does not only have a divine tolerance for our weakness, it is actually one of His greatest gifts to us. After Paul be sought the Lord "thrice" to remove one of the "thorns" in his flesh. In response, The Lord taught Paul to stop looking at the weakness of Paul and start looking at the grace of God. "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 

(2 Corinthians 12:9-10). 

He responded to Moroni's insecurity as a writer in a very similar way: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." 

(Ether 12:27)

I think if we slow down while we read this verse we will see something that can change the way we see weakness. I have always interpreted these verse more like this: "I understand that you are weak. I wish you wouldn't be but since you cannot really help it, I will tolerate your weakness and patch up your mistakes." What He actually said was "I give unto men weakness." He actually gave us weakness. It is a divine gift. Moroni later reminds us of a simple truth about all things that come from God: "But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil."

(Moroni 7:13-14)

If weakness is a gift from God and God only gives good gifts that invite us to do good, then we should remember that our weakness is not a roadblock or even an annoyance to His plan, but an essential ingredient. We must then be careful not to judge our weakness, which is a gift from God, as coming from the devil. In fact, the devil's tactic is for us to deny or hide our weakness. He must try to get us to believe that The Lord is disappointed in us for having weakness and so we ought to be ashamed to admit it. If this is our response to weakness, then, just as he does with all of God's gifts, satan can take a gift intended to turn us to God and try to use it to turn us away from Him.

This a concept that is beginning to make more sense to me. Weakness is not a curse, it is a God-given gift. If it were not for weakness, I could not understand the power and mercy of God. It isn't easy to see our weakness as reason to rejoice. It seems counterintuitive to rejoice in weakness. It is difficult to celebrate falling short. I think it requires a shift in attitude. We are prone to focus on the fact that we fell short of the mark rather than rejoice in the courage it took to jump and the peace of having one who is both willing and able to catch us. To focus on my weakness can cause me to forget the one who gives me strength. If all I'm worried about is that I didn't jump high enough, I forget what a gift it is to be able to jump and what a gift it is to have Savior to save me. 

It seems to me that too much of life is spent focusing on our failures and maybe not enough on rejoicing in our freedom. The Atonement of Jesus Christ has set us free forever. Free to run and jump and fall and try and fail. Because of Christ we need not fear to stumble or to fail because we have one who is mighty enough to heal and save us. 

I think too often instead of enjoying the freedom which has been bought for me, I sorrow in my weakness and essentially handcuff myself. Why bother living freely when I know I'm just going to fail again. The atonement of Jesus Christ paid my ransom, unlocked my prison cell and opened the door. 

Unfortunately I often remain in my cell, mourning my failures and my weakness. I pull the door closed and bemoan the fact that I feel so helpless. I think to myself that The Lord is so disappointed in me that He must surely expect that I remain in prison. When He tells me the price has been paid and all that is required is that I stand up and walk out, I think He must be kidding. Doesn't He know what I've done? 

Rather than focus on my weakness, I think it's time I start focusing on His strength. Rather than focus on my failures, I need to start focusing on His victory. Instead of focusing on how good I am at breaking things, I need to remember how good He is at fixing things.  Like the great and good in story, if we fail we fail with glory! Understanding God's gift of weakness will set me free forever to fail with glory.

True freedom then is to trust the atonement enough to rejoice in my weakness. Without my weakness, I could not know His grace. I would take a life full of "failures" that leads me to Christ over a life of "security" that keeps me isolated. He is the One who overcame all failure so that He could have the power to redeem us. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1)

Teaching Moment: Teach a child how to change a car tire. Have a child try to lift a car alone. When they are unable, talk about how a car jack works (or use one). Discuss how their inability to lift the car led them to seek something with more power. Point out that our weakness is meant to help us turn to the Lord for help and to rely on His strength. You could also point out that there is no shame in being unable to lift a car. Everyone has been given weakness, no one can succeed without seeking help. 

Celebrate weakness! Help a child or youth to develop a proper perspective on failure by congratulating them when they fail. Discuss how failure is not something to fear, but a divine gift. Turn their attention from the shortcoming of failure to the great blessing of trying again. Losing an athletic contest, or doing poorly on an assignment might be the perfect way to for their hearts to be prepared for a discussion about the Lord's great gift of weakness and a perfect opporunity to bear testimony of the strengthening power of the Atonement of Christ.

Possible ideas to teach: repentance, addiction, the Atonement, endure to the end, faith, fear, grace, strength, confession, sin.

Possible scripture references:

Ether 12:27

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Moroni 7:13-14

Galatians 5:1

2 Nephi 2:26-27

Possible Discussion Question:

What are some of the scary things The Lord has helped you to overcome in your life?