A Celebration of Weakness

When God told Moses that he was the one God had chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery and into the promised land, how did Moses respond? He basically countered God with everything he had. Who was he to do such a thing? He had spent the last few decades as a lowly shepherd in a foreign land tending sheep. When last in Egypt, his people had wanted to kill him. Why on earth would the people believe that he was sent from God? Didn’t God realize that he was slow of speech, not the least bit eloquent, and therefore NOT leader-material!

God responded by presenting Moses with signs and wonders to display to the Israelites as evidence of his being sent from God. He also told Moses that the people who sought his life were no more. But interestingly, God did not counter Moses’s self assessment. He did not say, “Moses, I have chosen you because you are extroverted, eloquent, humorous, witty, full of wisdom.” Instead, he told Moses, “I am with you.”

It seems that God is not repelled by our weakness, our insecurity, our anxiety. He merely reassures us that he is with us – insinuating that our self-assessment is perhaps correct, but that he is able to guide, supply, heal, and empower, should we choose to turn to him and surrender.

There is an organization called Celebrate Recovery. At the onset of each meeting, a participant says, “I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ. I struggle with _____, and my name is _______.” I love that sequence of statements. The acknowledgment of real struggle (addiction, anxiety, insecurity, depression) coupled with acknowledgement of the one who meets us in the midst of the struggle and grants power to take the next step.

He is with us. He sees our infirmities. and he says, “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Are you feeling less than eloquent? Are you filled with anxiety or sadness? Give God your weakness. And maybe bring to mind the words from that Sunday School song.

Jesus loves me. This I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones, to him belong…they are weak, but he is strong.

**The notion of God not objecting to Moses’s self-assessment is taken from a sermon entitled: Overcoming Fear of Failure. from the Covenant Church of Naples.