Strength Through Weakness

When you go through tough things in life, quite often we tell people to just be strong. “Be strong, keep fighting, you got this!” I heard this a lot throughout my cancer journey.

I get the sentiment, and all the support helped me get through cancer. I was as strong as I could be…and I put up a tougher front than I actually was because I didn’t want to show that I was actually feeling quite weak.

Jenelle heard this phrase a lot as well during my treatment. “Be strong for Dave!” “He needs to see you being strong!”

While these statements are well-intentioned, and sometimes they do help give us that extra bit of strength we need to keep going, they can also be quite damaging.

You see, sometimes we need to be weak! Sometimes, when things happen to us in life, we need to have time to break down and process things. We need to have time to cry. Even Jesus did when his friend Lazarus died. The Bible says “Jesus wept!” Jesus didn’t just cry, he wept! He felt so much love and compassion for his friend, when he died, he cried.

Further, Paul reminds us “my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This could mean so many things. First, there is no question, in the end, both Jenelle and I are both stronger for having to go through our trials. Stronger mentally for sure.

However, I also believe there is a place to just be weak…to let ourselves be taken care of…to be cared for by others…to be prayed for…to be lifted up by others. In order for us to do that, we need to allow ourselves be vulnerable…to show weakness.

It will definitely be tough to know when to tell someone to be strong and when to let them be weak. This is something that comes with time, patience, wisdom, and prayer.

But my encouragement, when someone is going through a tough time in life…no matter the situation, is to be prepared to allow the person to be weak. Sometimes being strong is just too much. Be that friend who allows others to be weak. Then, perhaps, when you are going through your own tough times, you will allow yourself to be weak. Perhaps then, you can be made strong, you can be lifted up in your weakness!

Be blessed and have a great day!