We have a God who not simply is stronger than everything else, but delights to use weakness so that we can see his strength, so that His awesomeness is on display, not ours. Yet we get discouraged when we feel weak, or feel the weakness of our congregation, or the church. It should sadden us to see the weakening of God’s cause, but it should also fill us with expectation. Weakness never has been an obstacle, only an opportunity.

Would you pick an 80-year-old man to lead a slave uprising?

A timid man to lead an army against an all-conquering hoard?

A mild whisper to inspire a dejected prophet?

A shameful cross to bring us to a place of life and honour?

In a world accustomed to social media influencers and brand consultants, would you have picked a rag-tag bunch of nobodies to see your message of salvation went to the ends of the earth?

We live in a world where the big, the powerful, the influential and the instant are what matters. And it is easy for that to permeate our psyche, to colour our expectations of what God is doing.

For that reason we need to be recalibrated by scripture.

The Unlikely Power of Weakness

Shrinking churches, dwindling congregations—the church in the West seems to be in a perilous place. But consider the story of Gideon…

• Take your army and make it smaller—for I am big.
• Send your frightened soldiers home—for I am with you.
• Oh, you are one of the frightened ones—do not be afraid, for He that is with you is greater than all the hoards of Midian.

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