A Crutch for Weak People?

I have heard it said by people with no Christian faith that Christianity is just “a crutch for weak people”. This is often said in a disparaging way, but there is actually much truth in the saying and we should rejoice that we do have the Lord to lean on! The Bible encourages us to lean on God and not to try to manage on our own; to acknowledge our own weakness so that we can be strong with the Lord’s strength. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Psalm 105:4 says: “Look to the LORD and His strength.” Trusting in our own strength brings a curse (Jeremiah 17:5-6) but trusting in the Lord brings security and fruitfulness (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

Sometimes God uses circumstances in our lives to remind us that we need to rely on Him and not on ourselves, or on anything else. It is easy to look to our own abilities and to try to fix things ourselves, or to rely on other people, on material things, or on anything other than Him! In today’s scripture from 2 Corinthians 1, Paul was writing of the hardships he had had to endure in Asia. However, even in the midst of those difficulties, he could see that God was using the circumstances to remind them to rely on Him and not on themselves.

Later, in Chapter 11 of the same letter, Paul writes of all the sufferings he had had to endure – floggings, beatings, stoning, shipwreck and danger from rivers, seas and various enemies. Whatever difficulties we may be facing today, they are probably not as numerous as Paul’s. He goes on to boast about his weaknesses, as the Lord had told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). So Paul was able to say that he actually delighted in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution and in difficulties, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Hardships became an opportunity for Paul to receive God’s grace and strength. Do we see our difficulties in the same way?

If you are facing hardships today, maybe the Lord wants to remind you that He is the One you can lean on at all times, and He has all the strength you need. His power is made perfect in our weakness.