Day 35..God's Power in Your Weakness
Oh boy. I'm an expert in this area! My weaknesses are many.
"Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?"
For the first question the answer used to be emphatically, YES! But I've begun to learn exactly what this chapter is teaching. Being in leadership in a church is a tough thing. You're expected to keep your weaknesses to yourself so that others can lean on your strength. But you know what? I don't want others to lean on my strength, but on God's. As I've been opening up more with members of the congregation I've noticed that they're more open with me and they are more trusting as well, it seems. I've always been pretty open, but sometimes I felt guilty for doing so. You know, that maybe they would respect me less, or something.
As for the second question, I just know that I need to continue to be open and honest with folks. It's a shame that most leaders have to have a great fall before they can be humbled. That's very sad. Because it hurts everyone. If we would just admit that we have weaknesses, and that we're NOT Jesus. We're not perfect as He is........we would be much happier, and our ministries would thrive. :-) James
PS: I hope you all are growing and learning as much as I am. I miss the comments, but I know many of you are busy and whatnot. As I said the other day, you can comment on ANY day whenever you want to.
posted by James at 3:13 PM
1 Comments:
"Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?"
Oh man! This is such a tough question!
Here's the thing!
In my life, I limit God's power by trying to hide IN my weaknesses.
I'm usually pretty open about the areas where I am weakest; but I know that this openness is more about manipulation than it is about honesty for honesty's sake.
I have this tendency to tell people about my flaws, in order to lower their expectations. This gives me "wiggle room". I don't have to perform perfectly if people don't expect much from the very beginning. Moreover, when people hear my seemingly open admissions of insecurity and low self worth, they tend to affirm and approve more freely than they otherwise would.
Do you begin to see how I manipulate situations with this pattern of behavior?
If you do, than you see how I use my weakness as a place to hide and as a tool to manipulate situations and people. This definately limits God's power in my life.
I need to be more honest with others about my weakness and about my strengths.
I need to share more about the healing God has manifested in my life and less about the remaining brokenness.
I need to quite playing my "insecurity card" and risk making mistakes, as well as risk disappointing others.
I need to remember, it is God's will and His approval that I desire most!
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