“Just remain faithful to Me, and do not lose heart in times of weakness. I will put even these to good use.” (Inner Word)
It may not be easy for us to understand these words. How we would love to be strong and overcome all of life’s challenges. This may be especially true for people with a strong fighting spirit. But then our weaknesses emerge, serving as a constant reminder of the limitations of our human nature. We fall short of what we set out to do and are disappointed in ourselves.
Our Father clearly sees things differently. He is well aware of our weakness and of the danger of easily overestimating ourselves. It is in keeping with the wisdom of our Heavenly Father that He has the salvation of our souls in particular in mind.
The Psalm says: “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man; but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Ps 147:10–11)
For us humans, it is not a matter of proving to the world and to ourselves how great and strong we are, but rather of how much God lives in us and can work through us.
It is precisely here that the above words take on a deep meaning. There are moments of weakness in our limited human lives, yet our Father knows how to put them to good use. It is precisely these moments that we are to open up in trust to our Father. God invites us to do this, and thus they become fruitful. We remain faithful to the Lord because our Father is who He is, and not merely because we feel strong. In our moments of weakness, we hold fast to God, and this faithfulness may be more fruitful before the Lord than our natural strength.