In the Scriptures, there are many accounts of the nation of Israel facing obstacles that exposed their weaknesses. During those times of great weakness, God reminded His people that He was to be their strength. He told them in Isaiah 41:10: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (KJV, with personal emphasis added).
It is such a reassuring promise that in the midst of my own frailty and failures, God wants to reach down and take my brokeness and remake it into His boldness. He transforms crying into courage. My silence and sadness is replaced with singing. Isaiah 61:3 says, "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." God wants to do this and more in our lives.
I am almost 24 and I have weaknesses myself. I suffer from deal with depression and, more recently in the past two years, anxiety. It manifests itself in a few different ways, and one is that I will just start doing everything. I volunteer and serve to distract myself from a chronic illness that my doctor hasn't yet figured out. It is odd seeing this all in black-and-white. I am not complaining. These past few years have been some of the greatest for me. I have had wonderful opportunities to serve in churches, and I have made so many wonderful friends.
I never saw myself as a sad or worrisome person, but now I am both. Everyone dealing with poor mental health is different. Some take prescription drugs. Some go to therapy, counseling, or support groups. No one is weak for asking for help. To face your weakness and know you need help is being strong. This is a lesson I have had to learn several times over. Throughout the short time I have lived so far, God has showed me that only He can sustain me. Only His strength is able to remake my weaknesses into something wonderful He can use.
"Your weakness will often reveal your greatest strength" (#originalquote). The Apostle Paul said it best in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
So what are you dealing with? Will you cry out to God as Israel did and come before God in prayer like Paul, knowing that you cannot handle your weakness on your own? That first step towards accepting your weakness and asking for help is the hardest. God has something great for you, and He will use you in spite of your weakness because of His power. He is there waiting for you to ask for His strength. He sees your struggle, and He is reaching out with His mighty hand.
Isaiah 40:26-31
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
