Brag post...but it's not what you think.
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
I love to celebrate wins. In fact, I believe that looking backward to see how far we’ve come is hugely important and essential for building positive momentum towards our goals. Celebrating our wins is also a practice that invites gratitude and joy into our lives.
In their book The Gap and the Gain, Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy teach this concept. When we measure the “Gap” between where we are in comparison to our dreams and goals for the future, we will always come up short, since our dreams and goals are constantly changing, like the horizon that never gets any closer no matter how long we journey towards it. Instead, they suggest we “always measure backwards” by looking at where we were 2 days, 2 months, 2 years or even 20 years ago and comparing it to where we are today. This is measuring the “Gain.”
But did you know there is a way to turn your Gap into Gain? In his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives us a powerful way to do just that.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Did you catch that? Paul not only accepts and admits his weaknesses and shortcomings, but he says he gladly boasts about them. Keeping true to Jesus’ habit of flipping scripts, Paul says that he will happily brag about his weaknesses, the very things that we usually want to push away, hide or ignore.
In the next verse he takes it one step further:
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10
Can you imagine what kind of conversations would happen if we took Paul’s advice seriously? Can you imagine bragging to a friend or family member about the last time you messed up in a big way or about that temptation you didn’t resist? What would our testimony look like if we turned loose of our desire to be seen a certain way by others and just kept praising God every time we fail, delighting in our failures because we see them as an opportunity to rely on Christ’s strength?
These verses are seriously messing with my brain as well as my sense of order and cultural appropriateness. If I'm honest, the thought of bragging publicly about these things has my stomach in knots. But here we go. This is me, gladly bragging about my weaknesses…
I don't read the Bible every day.
I cuss more than I would like.
My car is a constantly a mess...like dumpster full of moldy work dishes and fast food trash mess--I have found moldy fruit in it at times when it's especially odiferous.
I've lived through 3 major depressive episodes where I questioned God, His existence, His plan, His love, to the point where dying by suicide was a real danger to my life.
I make a mess when I cook and when I eat--nearly all my shirts are stained with food I've dropped on myself while eating.
I don't work out as often as I would like.
I have often turned to food for comfort and not just nutrition...and my body shape demonstrates this habit.
I'm really good at giving help, but struggle to let others help me.
I tend to be bossy and prideful.
This list is really really uncomfortable for me to write.
I can be harsh and judgmental, even if I'm good at not speaking my judgments out loud.
I continue to find racist thoughts, patterns, assumptions and phrases that have historically been regular parts of my speech and actions.
I have difficulty loving some people the way God wants me to love, especially during a busy or emotionally difficult ER shift.
I fear that I'm going to "get it wrong" in a big way, especially when it comes to creating and posting Christian content online in my Sunflower Christian Coaching business.
I'm terrible at mailing birthday and Mother's/Father's day cards on time. (Case in point—Mother’s day is in 2 days and I haven’t mailed a card yet…)
Before Facebook and Google calendar, I was terrible at even remembering friends' birthdays.
I can share this list with you and gladly boast about these weaknesses only because I’m resting solidly in Christ’s strength. I can open myself up to your disapproval and criticism only because I am convinced of Christ’s approval. I can delight in insults and hardships because I have a Savior who was insulted and humiliated and abused and killed on my behalf.
As K.T. Ramsey says in her book The Lord is my Courage:
“When we practice remembering that the Spirit of Christ is our companion, fear simply becomes one more prompt to pay attention to the voice and presence of Love.”
This same concept applies to our weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties. Every criticism, hardship and difficulty can become one more prompt to remind ourselves that God is with us. Every shortcoming and failure can become a moment when we remember to pay attention to the voice and presence of Love.
And that is how to turn your Gap into Gain.
Love,
Heather
P.S. Here’s the link to The Gap and the Gain and to The Lord is my Courage if you want to read more.
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