8 Lessons in the Bible That Highlight Our Weakness and God’s Strength

1. The Strength of God’s Salvation

“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).

Let’s start with your salvation. God had already given us the law, and all we had to do in order to receive eternal life was to fulfill the requirements of the law. However, we all failed miserably. Our failure was not just because of desire. We had a much bigger problem, which was our sinful nature. Romans clearly tells us that the inability of the law to achieve its desired result is because its power was weakened by our sinful nature or flesh. In seeing this weakness, God did something about it by sending Jesus to be the fulfillment of the law. Now our salvation is not based on our limited weakness, but on Christ’s perfect strength in fulfilling the law and providing a perfect sacrifice for our sin.

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2. The Strength of God’s Presence

“Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’” (Exodus 33:15-16).

What you learn in Exodus is that the strength of who we are is only because God’s presence is with us. Moses clearly recognized this. When you experience victory of any kind, it is certainly not because of your own ability. You win because of the Spirit of God, who is present in your heart. Please do not deceive yourself into thinking you win on your own – you don’t. It’s the Holy Spirit in your life who causes you to walk right, talk right, and live right. If you remove his presence, then all you are left with is relying on your own strength, and we just read in Romans how that is going to turn out for you.

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3. The Strength of God’s Name

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm”

(Psalm 20:7-8).

There is power in the name of Jesus. Let me repeat that. There is power in the name of Jesus. Notice in Psalms the reason we stand is that we trust in the name of the Lord. That’s it. Everyone else who is trusting in something else will ultimately fail. Trusting in the name of the Lord is an admission that he is the one who will bring you through. Because God rescues and delivers those who trust him, that’s why there is power in the name of Jesus.

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4. The Strength of God’s Grace

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This is one of the ultimate statements that recognizes our weakness and God’s strength. God’s power is made perfect in us when we recognize our weakness. So often in life, society teaches us to be strong, or "never let them see you sweat." That may work in the world, but that does not work in God’s kingdom. In fact, the opposite is true. God’s strength only kicks in when we stop depending on our own strength. It is at the end of your weakness where you find God’s grace to help you in every area of your life. If you are weak today, and you acknowledge it, then praise God, because now you are in position to find God’s grace to empower you.

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5. The Strength of God’s Spirit

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).

Again, we see the Spirit of God helping us with our weakness. You can find his help in any weakness you are experiencing and even when you are praying. The Holy Spirit is the one whom Jesus promised would come after he left and, most important, he said he would be in us and would be with us forever. God’s grace is available to strengthen you, and that power comes by the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.

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6. The Strength of God’s Comfort

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

Isn’t it good to know that even in our most trying moments, God is there to provide comfort? The comfort he provides gives us the ability to comfort others. Often when you are in a position of needing comfort, maybe you lost someone you love, it is reassuring to know that even in these times where you are emotionally weak and drained, God is there to wrap his arms around you and strengthen you with his loving comfort.

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7. The Strength of God’s Peace

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

We live in a tumultuous world and there is turmoil everywhere. All you need to do is turn on the news and you see that. When you see these things happening, the natural response is to be on edge. However, even in these moments where there is uncertainty, or even trouble, you can have peace. The fact that Jesus tells us not to let your hearts be troubled, or to not be afraid is an acknowledgment that we are prone to those things happening. All it takes is for life to happen and when it does, fear and a troubled heart can quickly follow behind. If you are in that place today, Jesus wants to give you his peace to strengthen your troubled or fearful heart. I encourage you to find your peace in him today, even if it seems like your entire world is falling apart around you. Even in this situation you can find strength in his peace.

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8. The Strength of God’s Keeping

“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 1:23-24).

The last thing to recognize is this – the God who is strong enough to begin your salvation will also be strong enough to keep you and deliver your salvation. God has not only promised to save you, he has also promised to keep you. When you consider your salvation, always hold this perspective in mind. God is the one who has saved me, and he is the one that will uphold me. One day we will all stand before the Lord. The confidence you can have on that day is not how good a job you did in keeping yourself, but in the strength God gave you to endure until the end.

Final Thought

This journey of salvation was never about your ability to obtain it or keep it. It has always been about God’s ability to save you, deliver you, and help you live out this salvation every day. The ones who are the strongest in their walk will live in this truth and continue to grow stronger still. The ones who don’t will find this walk most challenging because they are trying to accomplish it in their own strength.

I can tell you that won’t work because that is not how it was designed to work. Always remember in God’s kingdom, there is always strength in your weakness because it is only in your weakness where you will ever experience God’s strength in your life.

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