When our strength is low, our emotions are frayed, and our thoughts revolve around the question: ‘Where is God in the midst of all this hardship?’, that is precisely where that the teaching addresses the theme that when I am weak, He is strong, and what that actually means in everyday life with Jesus, where frustration, doubt and powerlessness can weigh heavily. The teacher here explains how God deliberately chooses what appears insignificant and weak in the eyes of the world, and makes it useful, so that it does not merely become a large, impressive clay pot, but a tool He can use for something concrete, and how it is precisely when one feels at one’s lowest that God begins to shape, purify and build up. In the light of Israel’s history, it is described how God chose the very smallest and most insignificant nation, the Israelites, as His own people—not because they were great and impressive, but because He wanted to show that He lifts up the least, and that His faithfulness and protection remain steadfast, even when people do not follow His will or even deny Jesus Christ, whilst also highlighting how God still protects the land of Israel, even though the Jewish people as a whole do not accept Jesus, and how this reflects the way in which God can also have His hand over the individual believer, even when one does not fully understand or see it.
The story is told of Gideon, who sees himself as the youngest and most insignificant in his family and tribe, and who therefore finds it hard to believe that God will truly use him to deliver Israel from the Midianites, but it is precisely in the midst of this perceived weakness that he is told: ‘I will be with you; you shall strike down the Midianites, every last one of them,’ and the sermon highlights how Gideon even puts God to the test several times, because he is almost certain that God must have chosen the wrong person, but that God patiently reaffirms his calling, drastically reduces the army, and finally sends Gideon and 300 men to face a massive enemy army, so that it becomes absolutely clear that the power of victory comes from God and not from human strength. Similarly, the story of Samson is presented as an illustration of how a person who is strong and chosen by God can abuse his strength, become ensnared by compromise and pride, lose all his power, and yet, when he is utterly humbled, blind and powerless, once again find strength by surrendering his life to God’s plan and letting his final act be a confrontation with the enemy for the benefit of God’s people, so the point is that true strength does not lie in physical power and outward appearances, but in being surrendered to God’s will, even when it comes at a cost.
David is mentioned as the shepherd boy who, in himself, was nothing special, but who goes forth against Goliath in God’s name and refuses to rely on royal armour and human protection, and this opens up the question of whether David was proud, or whether he had simply understood who God had called him to be, and dared to rejoice in that. The teaching challenges the ‘Jante Law’ and the Danish tendency to look down on oneself, as this is often mistaken for humility; it points out that true humility is not about submitting to an unhealthy ‘Jante Law’, but about giving God the credit for everything He has placed within you, daring to give thanks for strength, intelligence, abilities and gifts, whilst at the same time being fully aware that this is not something you have created yourself, but something God has placed within you to be used for His plan and His people. It describes how the devil’s lies about being weak, useless and of lesser worth are allowed to define many Christians, and that there is therefore a need to start speaking the truth about who God has created you to be, so that faith in His work in your life may grow, and the lie loses its power.
James 4 is highlighted as a powerful exhortation that God opposes the proud, but grants grace to the humble; the text is read as a direct call to submit to God, resist the devil, draw near to God and allow oneself to be purified, whilst explaining that the phrase ‘God ‘opposes’ has the character of a military front, where God actively takes up arms against arrogance and pride; thus, pride becomes not merely a minor character flaw, but something that makes a person an adversary of God. It is explained that humility does not mean submitting completely to the ‘Jante Law’ mentality, but to walk in awe and recognition that all good things come from God, that strength comes from His hand, and that the entire focus must be on giving Him the glory, no matter how high He chooses to lift one up. At the same time, the teaching warns against the opposite pitfall, where one begins to use God’s calling as an excuse for self-aggrandisement and personal glory, so that the walk of faith becomes a project of self-promotion rather than a life of reverence and dependence.
Against this background, five specific points are presented as a practical guide to understanding that ‘when I am weak, then He is strong’, and how, in practice, one can be lifted up in God’s power in the midst of powerlessness. The first point concerns acknowledging one’s powerlessness without God and honestly recognising that, without His intervention, one’s projects, ministry and way of life will bear no fruit and will not lead to repentance, transformation or the life of God; and emphasis is placed on the fact that as long as one fundamentally believes one can manage on one’s own strength, one will fall back into empty endeavours time and time again. The second point concerns making oneself dependent on God in everything—in ministry, in the prophetic, in prayer, in finances and in all areas of life—and concrete examples are given from street evangelism and healing prayers, where it becomes clear that if miracles happened every single time, the temptation would be great to believe that one possessed the strength oneself; and therefore God may allow nothing to happen in some situations to remind one that it is never about human success, but about His presence and sovereign will.
The third point concerns trusting the Bible one hundred per cent as the Word of God and holding fast to the promises, even when emotions and circumstances scream the opposite; reference is made, amongst other things, to the promise that the Holy Spirit will provide the right words when one stands before judges and is called to account, and to the image of Jesus sleeping in the boat in the midst of the storm as a model of being able to sleep soundly, even when the world is collapsing around one, because one knows that one is in God’s boat. Here, Isaiah 40 is cited, where it says: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an eternal God, the Creator of the vast earth; he does not grow weary or faint, and his understanding is beyond fathom. He gives strength to the weary and new vigour to the faint. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles. They run and do not grow weary; they walk and do not faint.” It explains how this word is not merely a comfort, but a call to live in active trust in God, so that one does not lie awake at night worrying, whilst at the same time claiming to believe in His provision.
The fourth point delves deeper into the word ‘hope’ in Isaiah 40 and describes how the Hebrew word behind it encompasses both active expectation, interweaving and remembrance, so that hope is not a passive ‘well, I hope it works out’, but a living, active expectation that God will act, interwoven with His nature like a rope, and bound to the memory of what God has done before, both in one’s own life and in the stories of the Bible, so that one can say: God, you did it before, you will do it again. By weaving this active expectation together with God’s faithfulness, a hope arises that gives new strength, and the teaching encourages us to look back on our own experiences of God’s intervention, give thanks for them, and use them as fuel for hope, so that one is not trapped by current circumstances, but sees them in the light of God’s faithfulness. The fifth point is about letting go of one’s own honour and control, saying goodbye to the need to have every detail under control and to be seen as the capable one, and instead allowing God to have both the honour and the control; Moses is held up as an example of someone who once took the credit by striking the rock in his own way, and the consequence of this, and we are urged not to take credit for anything God does, but instead to rest in the fact that Jesus is in the boat and that He knows where to sail, even when we ourselves cannot see the route.
The teaching brings everything together by emphasising that it is all about acting in faith – not by imitating others, but because one knows for oneself that God is faithful, that He has done it before and will do it again, so that one’s actions spring from a personal hope and a personal walk with God, not merely from the testimonies of others. Several Bible passages are read and cited to emphasise the contrast between the world’s ways of thinking and God’s ways of thinking, including the words that the world says the strong, the wise and the powerful win, whilst God says that His grace is sufficient, that His power is made perfect in weakness, and that He chose what the world regards as foolish, weak and insignificant, to put to shame the wise, the strong and the proud, so that no one may boast before God; all this ties in with the idea that the cross, which the enemy believed to be defeat, is in reality the place where God’s strength and victory break through, and that Jesus’ death and resurrection demonstrate precisely that true victory comes through humility, obedience and surrender. Jeremiah’s words are also quoted concerning the cursed man who trusts in people and his own strength, and the blessed man who trusts in the Lord and becomes like a tree planted by the water, which does not fear drought, and this is used as a powerful illustration of what it looks like when one either builds one’s identity on one’s own strength and the opinions of others, or on God as the source, where one is planted in His presence.
Finally, the image of the eagle’s flight feathers is explained as a metaphor for the fact that when God gives new flight feathers, He does not merely provide a little extra energy, but lifts one up so that one can view one’s life and relationships from a completely new perspective, where one sees other people’s stories, wounds and struggles, rather than merely seeing one’s own hurt feelings in the moment, and it describes how God prunes away lies and fear like withered branches, lifts one up to new heights, and grants a broader outlook, so that one can love people one previously found difficult, and pray sincerely for those one could previously only criticise. The teaching emphasises that weakness is often a matter of a lack of perspective, where one sees only one’s own brief span of 80–90 years and one’s own current feelings, but when one unites oneself with God in hope, acknowledges one’s powerlessness without Him, makes oneself dependent on Him, trusts in His word, lets go of one’s own pride and control, and acts in faith, then He lifts one up, gives new strength, and allows one to walk with Him in the works He has prepared, where strength no longer depends on one’s own daily form, but on His presence and faithfulness over one’s life. The common thread is that it is precisely in weakness, powerlessness and humility that God can display His strength, shape the vessel and use it, and that true freedom and fruit come when one dares to let oneself be lifted up by Him and live a life centred on His glory.
Quote from the teaching: The world says you must become great to amount to anything, but God says, ‘Humble yourself, and I will exalt you.’
Relevant keywords: when I am weak, He is strong – God’s strength in weakness – Christian humility – the Law of Jante and faith – Gideon and faith – Samson and humility – David and Goliath – hope in the Lord – The power of the Spirit in everyday life – Christian identity – God’s calling and gifts – overcoming pride – discipleship and following Christ – weakness and powerlessness – new wings like the eagle’s
