Hope Firstعينة

Weak But Strong Rocky, Star Wars, Remember the Titans. What do these movies have in common? They are all about an underdog: a flawed and unlikely person who faces adversity and wins (spoiler alert!). Many of us love watching underdog stories, but how many of us love being the underdog? In the Bible, verses like Romans 8:37 motivate us. It says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” It’s empowering to view ourselves as conquerors. Who wouldn’t enter a race they were guaranteed to win? We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength! But, what happens when we read this in our deepest valleys? When we are facing death, heartbreak, or failure? Does God expect us to take a deep breath and forge our way forward? Is that how we win? The Bible has a surprising answer: “But [the Lord] 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” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV). God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. We don’t conquer our trials by being strong and invincible. We conquer them through Christ. We win when we humbly admit that we are weak and limited. We win by making room for God to move. John 16:33 says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” The spoiler alert in our story is this: God overcomes all. This is how we are conquerors — we are God’s children and He fights the battle for us. Instead of trying to take matters into our own hands, we can let God lead us through our hardships. God can speak to us through the Bible and give us the wisdom to see our situation from a new perspective. He can renew our strength through prayer and the encouragement of godly friends. There is so much that God can and will do, and we know how it all ends: in victory. PRAYER God, Thank You for being my Father and Savior. Thank You for taking me as I am and winning the battle as You are. You never fail and You never will. Please help me to admit my weaknesses so that I can make space for You to move. May You become more as I become less. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.