Creating a Masterpiece Out of Weakness

by Carey Bailey

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with my father in-law and interview him for my talk at You Are Stronger Than You Think this Fall. His professional history has included executive leadership in Fortune 500 companies to starting his own business that he built over time into a 300+ employee organization. This past year he sold the company and has now entered the world of retirement. I figured he was a pretty good fella to glean wisdom from.

In our talk he said a lot of good things but one in particular has stuck with me.

We tend to do the exact opposite, right? I personally feel like I know my strengths and so if I could just hone my weaknesses then I would have it all together. It would all be just perfect!

But what if our weaknesses are key for us? What if they help us unlock a God-sized perspective on success?

What if our weaknesses are a gift so that we live into the fullness of what it means to be part of the body of Christ in our business, marriage, role as mother, church leader, friend, and so on?

The Message version of Paul’s perspective on this brings it into real life.

“So I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Like Paul we can either allow our limitations to get us down or we can walk in confidence with our weaknesses trusting that they reveal Christ through us in brighter and bolder ways than we ever could do on our own.

If you asked me my weaknesses I could list a slew of them; control, pride and fear to name a few. But one of my simplest weaknesses is that I can’t spell. I can’t. I also have a tough time with basic grammar rules which always causes me to go comma crazy. I would swear to you I was born this way. I am sure 4 people proofed this blog post for me and my guess is there is still something “wrong”. I used to beat myself up and think this weakness would hinder my ability to excel. I seriously can’t even hit publish on Facebook without there being some sort of error despite the fact that I have read it and re-read it 10 times before hitting “post.” This specific weakness has actually been haunting to me and I often felt like a disappointment.

• Have you ever felt that way about your weaknesses?
• Do you let it cloud your perception of self?

After years of frustration I have learned to re-frame my weakness. Now every time I see a typo immediately after I hit post or send I am reminded of my humanness. I am reminded that it is not about me but about Him. God is at work despite me. Every time someone gently points out a mistake in a blog post I no longer hang my head in embarrassment but remain thankful l that I have people around me who care and thrive in areas I am weak. I pray I can do the same for them.

My father in-laws encouragement to not be consumed by our weakness is a reminder of who we are to be consumed with and that is the power and strength of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

What about you? What is the weakness that will push you to your knees?
Carey Bailey is a woman who loves to dance around the living room with her husband to Michael Jackson, loves Blue Bell Pralines and Cream ice cream, loves reading to her kids in a tree house, and loves having Jesus as her BFF!

She is self professed candy junkie but sugar will never match her deep desire for helping women satisfy their cravings for abundant life. She does this through life coaching, speaking, and by sharing a one-of-a-kind devotional she authored, Cravings {The Devotional}.

You can connect with Carey through her Web-site, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.