I remember the first time I ever saw the ocean in person. Waves lapped fiercely against the jagged rocks as the water spanned as far as the eye could see. So powerful and so vast, the ocean made me feel small and insignificant. Other people have talked about those same feelings when they see the Grand Canyon or the mountains for the first time.
Sometimes, we can feel that same way when we are given a task from God. It is such a big job that it makes us feel small. We are overwhelmed at the thought of what we have to do. We feel inadequate and often begin giving God excuses about why we could never hope to accomplish what He has asked of us.
In Our Weakness
That excuse doesn’t work with God. He already knows what we can’t do. In fact, that is probably the exact reason that He gave us the task or ministry in the first place. He knew our weaknesses would be the perfect way to accomplish His goal so that He would receive the glory and not us.
When we look at ways we can get involved in ministry, we often think about our skills and our strengths. We may do an assessment to see where we would best fit best based on our abilities. However, God doesn’t always work that way. Yes, He designed us with specific talents and skills that He could use, but He also allowed us to have weaknesses that He could also develop.
The Bible says that God often uses the weak to confuse the strong. Many times, we overlook our weaknesses or avoid areas of ministry that remind of past mistakes or issues when we seek to serve God.
Changing Our Focus
Instead of discounting those areas of our lives that we feel are worthless, maybe we should consider them more when we are searching for a way to minister to others. After all, who is better equipped to work with victims of abuse than someone who has suffered at the hands of another? Who can understand what addiction is like better than someone who has gone through recovery? A person with a fear of speaking in public is going to spend more time in prayer before addressing a group. They will be more in tune with what God wants them to say because they lack their own words.
Many times, people struggle to understand why God allows bad things to happen or why we have certain traits that we consider weaknesses. While we may never know the answer to that question for certain, we can know that God uses every aspect of our lives for His purposes if we allow Him to. He will take those dark experiences, those attributes that we consider weaknesses and turn them into ways we can minister to others if we are willing.
Think about your weaknesses in a new way and how you might use them in ministry. Have you ever been called to a ministry when your weaknesses were more important than your strengths?
