THE DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE
YOUR WEAKNESS ISN’T YOUR ENEMY…IT’S YOUR INVITATION TO DEPENDENCE
Isaiah 40:29-31, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah reminds us that God is the source of everything we need, especially our strength. God’s strength is strength that can take us beyond our human abilities. Our dependence upon God gives us strength that we could not have otherwise and allows God to reveal His strength through us.
Psalm 40:3-4, “He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.”
When our dependence rests upon God and His strength through us, it is our testimony of how God can take our weakness to turn it into strength so that “many will see what He has done and be amazed.” We glorify God when we trust Him and rest in dependence upon Him to meet our needs and use what we see as weakness to move mountains.
1 Peter 4:10-11, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”
God will supply what we need for whatever He is calling us to do. When we rely on Him to meet us in our need, then all that we do serves to bring glory to His name.
Habakkuk 3:19, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”
The prophet Habakkuk knew that God was the source of his strength. Even through times of terror, testing, and hardship Habakkuk trusted that God would provide what he needed and more to face each situation. He depended upon the Lord alone as his source of strength.
IT IS THROUGH OUR WEAKNESS THAT GOD’S GLORY IS PUT ON DISPLAY AS HE FILLS US WITH HIS STRENGTH. THERE IS SOMETHING AMAZING ABOUT HOW GOD TAKES OUR WEAKNESSES AND TURNS THEM INTO STRENGTH TO BE USED FOR HIS GLORY.
Hebrews 11:32-34, “ How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. ”
Scripture is full of examples of how weakness becomes strength when it results in dependence upon God to do through us what only He can do. God wants to do the same thing in each and every one of us, and He can, once we realize that our human weakness is an invitation to embrace dependence upon God’s strength to sustain us.
PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE
Who in the Bible comes to mind first when you think about weakness becoming strength when dependence rests upon God? Is this an idea that is foreign or familiar?
Take some time to slowly read through all of Hebrews 11.
If there are people listed in this passage that are not familiar to you, take some time to search and learn about their stories of faith. Can you see the different ways they were invited to depend upon God, and that even when they had questions, when they stepped out in faith, He showed up? Discuss with your small group.
Look up the biblical definition for dependence. If the idea of weakness being turned to strength was foreign to you, does reading this definition provide insight? Dependence is not an easy concept to grasp in a world that calls for independence. Take some time to sit with this idea and ask God how He is calling you to lean into dependence upon Him.
Have you experienced how God can turn your weakness into strength, how “the place where you feel weakest is often where God wants to show Himself strongest?”
What is something in your life that you see as a weakness? If you have experienced God taking this weakness to reveal His strength through you, please share about that experience with your small group. If you have not experienced this, then think of one way that God could take an area of your life where you feel weak and turn it into strength and discuss with your small group.
Read Deuteronomy 8:2-3. What is this passage speaking to you to about dependence upon God? Why do you think dependence is such an important component to a life of faith in Christ?
Write out a prayer (or borrow one from Scripture) asking God to help you to grow in your dependence upon His strength in your life. Use this week to revisit this prayer each day and write down what He is speaking to you, and do it.
Having faith and trust as we lean into dependence upon God is not only meant to benefit us, it is meant to have an impact that stretches beyond what we can see or imagine. Our goal is always to produce fruit that glorifies God.
Read Jeremiah 17:5-8, then read again in another version.
What are some of the benefits, the fruit, of living a life of dependence upon God? Elaborate on how and why these things are benefits. Discuss with your small group.
Take some time to imagine how God is working behind the scenes to turn your weaknesses into strength to bring glory to His name. Consider those areas of your life that you dislike and want to change … and ask God to show you how He is using them to draw you closer into relationship with Him. Write out a prayer of thanksgiving for anything that you consider weakness and release it into His hands to turn into something that is a strength that you could never have imagined. Share with a trusted friend so they can pray with you over this.
