The Key to Finding Strength When You Feel Weak
What do you tell yourself when you feel weak? For a long time, every time I felt weak I’d tell myself, “You should be stronger than this. You shouldn't feel this way”.
I don’t know where I got that notion from, but somewhere in my life I learned that I needed to always have it together and put on a brave face. This was especially true during my worst depressive episodes and anxiety attacks. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t hold it together. There were times when I was easily overwhelmed, overly anxious, or just emotional and I hated myself for it. Yet, I couldn’t stop being those things. If, like me, you struggle with feeling weak because of your shortcomings, how do you overcome it?
You accept it. Now hear me out.
Find Strength in Christ
A couple of years ago I had the worst panic attack of my life. I was moving to a new city in a thirty days and was in the process of interviewing with a few different companies. I traveled three hours to the new city for a final round interview that was happening the next morning. I was in the hotel room and struggling with anxiety regarding the move. I was sure God told me to make this move, but it was the biggest leap of faith I’d ever taken. What if I choose the wrong job, or couldn’t find a place to live, or move there and hate everything? Those questions consumed my mind and eventually manifested into an attack. My chest grew tight, I felt pain on my side, and couldn’t catch my breath no matter how much I tried. It was so intense that for a moment I thought I was having a heart attack. To top it off, I was all alone.
I did the only thing I knew to do - I prayed. As I was praying I heard a thought in my mind say “You’re weak. You’re weak for feeling this way and you should be better than this.” I would’ve given into that though if I hadn’t heard the Holy Spirit right after. He reminded me of this truth: God’s power is made perfect in my weakness. Therefore, when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
God’s Grace is Sufficient
“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
At that moment, instead of succumbing to the lie that my weakness made me a failure, I accepted the truth that it made me strong. I declared God’s word, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. The only way to overcome a lie from the enemy is with the truth of God’s word. I declared, “Yes I am weak, and God’s power is made perfect in my weakness. Therefore I’m strong. God’s power is at work within me so I do not have to do it on my own.”
I continued to pray and declare that truth over myself, and after about five minutes the anxiety and pain calmed down. I was able to regain my composure and eventually sleep through the night.
Strength Comes From Surrender
Accepting your weakness doesn’t mean forsaking healing or giving up on improving. It simply means letting go of an expectation of perfection; an expectation of yourself that God never intended for you to have. There’s a reason Jesus tells us to bring our burdens to Him so that we can find rest. This life is hard and the cares of it will weigh you down. Moreover, the culture of the world promotes unrealistic expectations of who you should be and what your life should look like.
What is the thing that makes you feel weak? Do you feel like you have to be perfect, happy, or strong all the time? Ask yourself, “Where did that belief come from?” I can assure you it wasn’t from God.
So many of us want to be superman/superwoman. We want to be able to say we got this and actually have it together. But Jesus didn’t come because we had it all together. No. He came to earth as a man and died on a cross as a sacrifice for our sin because we aren’t able to overcome on our own. We are not enough and we need a Savior.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8
God Can Handle Your Burdens
The Bible doesn’t instruct us to never feel weak or hold everything together in our own strength. Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:29). We’re not created to handle the weight of life on our own. We were made to depend on God. He invites us to let go of our burdens and take on His yoke, which is easy and light. What you struggle to carry on your own Jesus can carry with ease. After all, He is the creator of the universe. Nothing is too hard for God.
“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!”
Jeremiah 32:17
I pray that, like me, you’re able to accept where you are in the process while allowing God to transform you into who He’s created you to be. I pray you don’t believe the lies but hold on to the truth. Most of all, I pray your know the depth of God’s love and grace so that you may be able to fully trust Him with everything, and experience a peace and rest that exceed anything you could imagine.
