Today’s article is from CARE for AIDS Intern, Anna Wilke.
Recently I had an assignment in one of my classes that required me to think and write about the stereotypical interview question, “describe your strengths and your weaknesses.” I don’t know about you, but I dread this question because it requires me to look at the parts of myself I wish I could change. As a very type A person, one of my biggest weaknesses is that I resist change and am uncomfortable with the unknown and what I can’t plan. What I’ve been learning recently though is that, as cliché as it sounds, God’s strength can be shown even more through our weaknesses. When we step into our weaknesses God can make His power, sovereignty, and love known even more.
One of the most tangible ways I have seen God made known in weakness and in the unknown is the lives of the clients that CARE for AIDS serves. These men and women are among the most marginalized people in the world because of their HIV diagnosis. They, more than most, do not know what the future will hold for them which can be terrifying. Time and time again, despite the fear and unknown that come with an HIV diagnosis, I have seen our clients own their physical, emotional, economic, and spiritual weaknesses and it allows for amazing transformations. Accepting their weaknesses allows them beautifully embrace the good change the CARE for AIDS program brings. It is a beautiful and tangible metaphor for the way God can work in our own weaknesses and it inspires me, personally, to be vulnerable in my weakness.
A few weeks ago I heard my pastor say “True strength is the presence of weakness and the acknowledgement of God.” Our weaknesses can be used to glorify our Heavenly Father because it is so obvious we can not do it on our own. I have started to look at my weaknesses as a way to show God’s strength and a way to remind myself to continuously rely on Him. This truth has given me so much peace because it takes my weaknesses out of my own hands. I believe we can all draw encouragement from Paul’s example in 2 Corinthians 12 to “boast all the more gladly” in our weakness, so our Father’s strength can be made known.
