Weak Places, Strong Places

The Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us

with groans that words cannot express.

(Romans 8:26)

We all have them. Weak places. Places inside us that make us wonder if we’ll ever get it together like the together people. Places that make us feel less than—less than victorious, less than a conqueror, less than strong.

My weak places frustrate me. And yet I refuse to believe they can’t ever be changed. With the power of Christ, all things can be made new and all broken things can be restored. But sometimes I get so tired of feeling weak.

Weak places are like the lever that flips open the drain in my bathtub. My whole world can feel full and warm and clean until that little lever is pulled. Suddenly, the warm comfort is sucked away, leaving me shivering in a cold, hard, residue-filled space. Cold, hard, and residue-filled is exactly what those weak places make me feel inside.

What is your weak place? A temper that flares? An insecurity that stings? A family dysfunction that is always brewing?

May I breathe a little life into your weakness today? Whatever it is, however large it may loom, know that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26).

We don’t have to have all the answers. We don’t have to make suggestions to God. It’s okay to be so tired of our weak places that we run out of words to pray.

Listen to the beautiful verses tucked all around this verse about weak places:

Maybe we need to sit still for just a moment or two today. Quiet, without the weight of condemnation or the swirl of trying to figure things out. Quiet, with nothing but the absolute assurance that the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

He knows what to pray. He understands our weak places. There is a purpose to this weak place. Though it doesn’t feel good, we can trust that good will come from it (Romans 8:28).

In that quiet stillness, while the Spirit prays for us and we just simply soak in truth, there will be a flicker of light. A slight trickle of hope. A grace so unimaginable, we’ll feel His power overshadowing our weakness. Even the smallest drop of God’s strength is more than enough to cover our frailties, our shortcomings, the places where we deem ourselves weak.

And we’ll reject that label—we aren’t weak.

We are dependent. Dependent on the only One powerful enough to help us. The only One sufficient enough to cover us in grace throughout the process of growing stronger.

Our relationships may not be sufficient. Our circumstances may not be sufficient. Our willpower may not be sufficient. Our confidence may not be sufficient. But God is sufficient — and forever will be.

Hear Him speak this promise straight to your heart: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

So instead of wallowing in my weak place, I will let the Spirit reveal the one positive step I can take today. I will wash away the condemnation with the warmth of His grace. I will receive His power. And I will rename the weakness my strong place. “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).