Put Your Weakness to Work

When was the last time you put your weakness to work?

New leaders are quick to embrace Bible passages about God using the weak, the lowly and the uneducated.  Weakness is our greatest weapon when we don't have two credentials to rub together yet.

But as we gain wisdom and experience we often view weakness as a nuisance to eradicate rather than a conduit of God's power.  So we invest in developing our gifts, building our maturity, and maximizing our platforms. Yes, we're called to excellence and holiness for God.  Yet if God is serious about showing up where we’re powerless, then maybe we need to treat weakness as an unlikely asset. By surrendering our weakness to God, we can put it to work to grow two important areas of our life:

1- Weakness grows our team.

Our strengths lead us towards self-sufficiency; our weakness leads us towards community.

The enemy can twist our strengths into a lie of self-sufficiency that isolates us from the power of relationships.  But weakness keeps us grounded in our God-designed need for others.

An easy way to harness the potential of your weakness is to look for “equal and opposite” people: who around you is gifted or strong where you aren't?

If you're focused on details, where's your people-person counterpart?  If you see all issues as black and white, where's the gray thinker who stretches your perspective?  If you're the creative type who can't read a spreadsheet, who in your life can keep you organized? When you struggle with sin or self-control, who is your go-to accountability?  

Your weakness is an invitation for others to join your team.

2- Weakness grows our dependence on God.

Our strengths lead us toward control; our weaknesses lead us towards surrender.

When we operate in strengths, we believe we have a greater measure of control or influence over the outcomes in our relationships and ministries.  We tend to shift our focus from what God can do to what we can.

Weakness naturally brings us to surrender by eroding our perceived control and forcing us to trust in God.  Weakness can be our ally, fortifying our strengths with the humility of dependence on God's greater power.

So how can we put our weakness to work?

• Start a weakness visual board, journal or online document.  Record your ongoing areas of weakness and the places God has called you to step into that you don't feel qualified for.
• Pray over this list regularly.
• Develop your “equal and opposite” team, asking God to place people in your life to balance these weaknesses and support you in your vulnerability.
• Treat your list like a treasure map where each weakness marks a spot for God’s unmatched potential in your life.  Expect God to show up and record how He works.

 As we shift towards God’s view of weakness, we’ll find He can use it as a powerful tool to shape us as leaders and advance His kingdom.