Weak or strong?

The last couple of years may have brought us face to face with our weakness. Perhaps we have begun to discover afresh, God’s strength in our weakness?

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How are you feeling today: strong or weak?

We can answer that question from a number of different angles. We may think about physical strength, emotional strength or resilience, we might even think about strength of faith, or talk about strength of character. We might feel strong or confident with a particular ability like playing a sport or having a particularly good grasp of a subject.

When we feel strong in an area, or more confident about something, there can be a tendency to feel more in control. That’s good to an extent, and we need to lean into our strengths more and master them. The flip side of feeling strong in a particular area of course is that we feel weak, and I don’t know about you, but when I feel weak in an area, I feel less in control and it feels much more uncomfortable.

Driving lessons

On my seventeenth birthday my parents presented me with a gift of driving lessons. I was so excited. The day came for my first lesson with the driving instructor. I thought it couldn’t be that difficult, I had seen my parents driving for seventeen years already, I know a thing or two. I was unconsciously incompetent. I didn’t know what I didn’t know and you guessed it, in that first lesson I kangarooed along the road outside my house. My false confidence was immediately thrown out of the window and I felt totally out of control. However, the only positive was that I knew my instructor was in control and knew what he was doing.

As the lessons progressed, the kangaroo-effect began to diminish, and I became consciously incompetent. I became very aware of what I didn’t know. My confidence levels were very low and was very aware that this was a massive learning curve and growth area for me. It was uncomfortable.

In time I became more competent, but consciously competent. I was aware of the check list in my head: seat belt, mirrors, indicators, clutch, handbrake, mirrors again and accelerate. Driving at this stage wasn’t second nature to me and wasn’t second nature until perhaps a few years after passing my driving test when I became unconsciously competent. I didn’t have to think through all the checks and controls in the same way. I felt much more in control.

Unconsciously incompetent?

That process is one that is repeated in many different places and stages of life whether in relationships, in our careers, anything that requires us to engage with a new skill or an area where we feel not very competent to begin with. There is an aspect of psychology that looks into this, which you can read here.

Those who are just starting out and feel very weak in an area, you know that you are not in control and it’s uncomfortable and  a challenge. We are grateful for people coming alongside us like my driving instructor – people who can encourage us and tell us it will be ok. This is another picture of the comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is called alongside us in our weakness.

The challenge is different for those who feel unconsciously competent in an area, because often we can come to rely on our own strength and begin to forget that ultimately we are not in control. That God is control.

There’s something so wonderful about weaknesses because it is very clear that we need God’s help. The economy of God’s kingdom is that ’the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength’ (1 Cor 1.25). It rather puts things into perspective.

Embrace his strength not yours

My guess is over the last couple of years we’ve each been confronted with our limitations and our weaknesses in a way that may have surprised us and caught us off guard. Perhaps you’ve felt weak in the face of juggling multiple demands, maybe feeling lonely, managing home schooling, not being able to get away, or struggling with the fear of redundancy, or cost if living. Perhaps a host of different things.

We don’t need to be reminded that we’re weak. But we do need to remind ourselves of what God says to us in our weakness. Here are a couple of reminders for us:

‘He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak’ - Isaiah 40.29
'He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ - 2 Cor 12.9
‘I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak’ - Ezekiel 34.16

Why not spend a bit of time thinking about this in this season. Let’s remind ourselves that it is He who is strong. He who is building His church. He who is making all things new in Jesus.