“When we are powerless to do a thing, it is a great joy that we can come and step inside the ability of
Jesus.”
- Corrie Ten Boom
In one of his most conflictual letters in the Bible, Paul drags a tremendously spiritual phrase out of his back pocket: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ” (2 Cor. 12:9) The big question for most of us is, can he actually mean this? When a dear friend of mine struggled with alcoholism, it was terrifying and heartbreaking to watch. He was (and still is) an impressive guy; he played some college football, flew through college without much friction, married his high school sweetheart, did well in graduate school, and made friends with everyone he met, seemingly without trying. He was a good-looking guy from a great family with the charisma, confidence, and competence that turns many of us green with envy. And yet time after time, my friend gave himself over to the bottle and found himself hiding the evidence until he started getting caught. When his problem had devolved to the point of outside intervention, it was clear that he had no idea how to handle the mess that he found himself in. I distinctly recall sitting in his parents’ basement after he was told that the next day, for the second time, he was going to rehab. With slumped shoulders and a thousand-yard stare, he avoided eye contact with me and muttered something to the effect of, “That place is for people who are really broken.” In other words: not him.
My friend graduated his way out of rehab, and has been doing very well since... thank God! The point that righted the ship was the recognition that he was broken; he is one of those broken people. In fact, it was his strength -or the illusion of it- that actually kept him from being healed. It was his inability to relinquish his own goodness that was dragging him into a pit. Neither self-promotion nor self-pity would get him out of the mess that he found himself in. The only answer was falling to his knees and choosing to trust God enough to reshape Him. This is what David learns in 2 Samuel 12. This lesson is the one that the older brother in the Prodigal Son story was desperately needy for in Luke 15. Paul could honestly brag about his weakness because he had found healing at the crossroads of brokenness and humiliation. This is the place that God has always met people and this is the exact intersection that He longs to call you repeatedly to “get back up.”
Read 2 Samuel 12:13-31 and Luke 15:11-32
1. Why do you think that we spend so much time and energy trying to convince others that we are doing well? Why do you think that when we actually admit our brokenness we look for pity and justification rather than help?
2. Which side of the fence do you find yourself on more frequently: hiding from brokenness or seeking justification and indulging in self-pity? How so? Why do you think that is?
3. How do you view your own weakness? How does God view your weakness?
4. What will it require from you to humbly admit your brokenness and allow God to strengthen you to get back up this week? Who do you think He wants you to invite into that this week? How are you going to do this?