Is God Really Weak? Unpacking the Power of Vulnerability

Is God Really Weak?

…unpacking the power of vulnerability

In my previous post, I used the phrase "God's weakness.” It sounds like an oxymoron, right? We picture deities as omnipotent, flawless beings, so the concept of weakness or vulnerability feels wrong. But what if God's weakness isn't a flaw, but a hidden doorway to grace and strength?

“If you can move past the offense of God’s “weakness” you will find him waiting for you. This is where he will speak to you in his still, quiet voice. ”

Weakness is Offensive

Let's face it, weakness in our own lives feels pretty awful. It’s offensive and embarrassing.

We hide our insecurities, mask our imperfections, and chase after strength and power. If we could eliminate our weaknesses we’d do it, gladly.

This aversion to weakness naturally spills over into our image of God. We assume a divine being wouldn't have any weakness, and even if he did, he wouldn’t show it.

God’s Weakness is Offensive

Weakness offends us in our own lives and it offends us in the life of God too.

Yet…even though we shrink from the thought of the weakness of God, God is not afraid to reveal himself in weakness. Listen to how the prophet Isaiah described God’s messiah to come…and the reaction of people to him. (All the words in bold show the messiah’s weakness.)

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:2,3

People were offended by him. He wasn’t who they wanted him to be.  

But God’s willingness to appear in weakness showed the world that he is not ashamed of weakness. And he is not offended by our weakness.

Finding God in Weakness, Yours and His

If weakness offends you, both yours and God’s, you may be missing out on the presence of God. That's why only a few people gathered in the stable at the birth of Jesus. And that's why only a few gathered at the foot of his cross at his death. They assumed that God couldn’t be in those events.

But if you can move past the offense of God’s “weakness,” as well as your own weakness, you will find him waiting for you. This is where he will speak to you in his still, quiet voice.

The apostle Paul learned this lesson from God himself. He said…

God 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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-11

When we embrace our weaknesses, when we say "yes" to vulnerability, we open ourselves up to a different kind of strength, a strength fueled by God’s grace and compassion because he understands weakness.

A Christmas Invitation

This Christmas season, I’d like you to consider a new perspective on weakness. Instead of seeing it as something to overcome, consider viewing it as an invitation to authenticity and vulnerability where God can enter into your life. God isn’t afraid to show weakness and he isn’t ashamed of your weakness.

In acknowledging your own weakness and limitations, you might just experience the presence of God in a new way.

Question: What weakness, either in yourself or in God, offends you?

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