Everyone has a weakness—a blind spot, an Achilles heel, a kryptonite. Weaknesses can limit and even stop us from doing things for God. However, in many ways they can actually be helpful if we learn how to use them to our advantage.
There was a time when I was plagued with a condition called Spontaneous Pneumothorax, which caused my lungs to collapse every time I over stress myself. Because of this condition, I could only perform tasks and a level of work only up to a certain point.
Ironically, my pneumothorax actually proved helpful at keeping my health in check and making sure I do not over work or over stress myself, which actually impacted me in so many positive ways.
Whether it's a physical disability, sickness, habit or trait, there is something in all of us that tends to make us vulnerable to failure in certain tasks. Nobody's perfect as we always say, but many of those imperfections can actually prove to be advantageous if viewed at the right perspective.
Here are three ways we can turn our weaknesses into strengths.
1. Trust in God's perfect ability
Our weaknesses are most helpful because in our limitation, we are reminded to trust in God's unlimited power. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
Our areas of weakness become advantageous when they start highlighting the areas where we allow Jesus to miraculously move in our behalf.
2. Learn from your failures and setbacks
Failures and setbacks can often be caused by a weakness or a kink in our skill or attitude. These failures are not just reminders, but also lessons for us to learn from. God wants us to grow and become better, and one way He graciously allows that to happen is to bring testing so that in them we may learn and recalibrate.
Just like James 1:2 declares, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness."
3. Partner with people who complement you
Where we fall short, there is always someone who excels at it greatly. In this way, we will more easily find people and communities to join in pursuing God's best. We can't do everything, but we can partner with others who can do what we cannot.
1 Corinthians 12:15-16 draws for us this great illustration using the human body to show us how we can complement one another's strengths: "If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body."
