Reflection: The business writer Jim Collins talks about “the tyranny of the OR and the genius of the AND.”
We are tempted to believe that it is power OR weakness. But in fact, the Christian life is an experience of both authority and vulnerability, an experience of both capacity and utter dependence, an experience of power and weakness.
We do not have to deny we are feeling weak and vulnerable. But this does not excuse us from being active and influential. You can be powerful and weak at the same moment. You can be hospitable at the same time as being hard pressed. You can be generous and still feel vulnerable.
These difficult days are hard to fathom. So often in our lives we do not possess a detailed script. But we always have a pattern. That pattern is the way of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose power was expressed through weakness. It was his way. And it should be ours.
Question: Even in your weakness today, how can you be an influence for God’s purposes, right now?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you that your grace is enough for all my needs and that your power is made perfect in my weakness. Help me not to give up because I feel like I am not strong. Remind me that even today, you can work through my hardship to bring glory to yourself and bring blessing to others. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.