Identity in Christ or Identity in Me?
In yesterday’s Grace & Knowledge article, I wrote at length about the delusion of independence. Today, I want to write briefly about how that delusion was shattered for me during my season of sickness ten years ago and the physical weakness that resulted.
(By the way, I am doing very well today, all things considered. I live with only 35% of my kidney function, which results in frustrating and discouraging chronic fatigue, but otherwise, I am in stable health. By God’s grace, I am still productive in ministry and have never been more spiritually energized by the gospel. Thank you for your prayers, love, and concern!)
When I realized I was very ill and that weakness and fatigue would be with me for the rest of my life, the blow was not just physical, but emotional and spiritual as well.
This is humbling to admit, but I was a very proud man before I got sick. I travelled every weekend to conferences around the world and wrote book after book in between. I look back and now see that I lived with delusions of invincibility. I would have told you that my identity was firmly rooted in Christ, and there are significant ways in which it was, but simultaneously I found significant identity in my accomplishments and productivity.
There are many people who, like me, mistake self-confidence for faith in Christ. We’re proud of our physical strength and health, our sharp minds, our social abilities, our ability to lead and control, and our successes.
In this way we tend to take credit for things we could never produce or achieve on our own. We forget that every cell in our body and every neuron in our brain is dependent on God. We forget that every success we’ve achieved has depended on forces we could never control, and we forget that all our natural abilities are gifts from God. Taking too much credit always leads to placing too much trust in yourself.
Health, productivity, and success should produce deeper gratitude and worship, not self-reliance and pride.
When you live self-reliantly, and the unexpected, the unplanned, the unwanted, or the painful comes your way, you panic. You panic because suddenly you’re faced with your smallness, weakness, and vulnerability.
Suffering and the weakness that results will expose the danger of self-reliance and the delusion of independence. While incredibly painful, it can be a good and redemptive tool in the hands of our loving God.
Weakness simply demonstrates what has been true all along: we are completely dependent on God for life and breath and everything else. Perhaps we curse physical weakness because we are uncomfortable with placing our trust completely in God.
The weakness that is now a part of my regular life has been a huge instrument of God’s grace. It exposed idols of pride and self-glory I did not know was there.
Weakness is not what you and I should be afraid of. We should fear our delusion of strength. Strong people tend not to reach out for help, because they think they don’t need it. When you have been proven weak, you tap into the endless resources of divine power that are yours in Christ.
Weakness was not the end for me, but a new beginning, because weakness provides the context in which true strength is found. In my weakness, I have known strength in Christ that I never knew before.
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
A Prayer for Today: Lord, your grace is sufficient for me, and your power is made perfect in my weakness. Teach me to boast in my weaknesses rather than self-reliance. Please protect me from the temptation to find pride in my abilities and accomplishments, and produce in me a deeper gratitude and worship, so I may rest in the power of your Son. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Paul Tripp
Discussion Prompt for Children
• Why do you think it’s hard for us as people to be thankful for something like weakness? Isn’t weakness always a bad thing? How can weakness be a good thing in the eyes of God?
• Was there ever a time when you felt strong that you reached out for help from someone else? Why do you think it’s so hard for people to reach out for help when they’re feeling strong?
• Why is depending on God so important?
Reflection Questions
1. In the past, what has been your posture toward weakness? How were you raised to think about weakness? How has your posture toward weakness directly impacted your relationships with others? Your relationship with God?
2. What are some areas of your life where you might be mistaking self-confidence for faith in Christ? What have you had a tendency to take credit for in your life that, in reality, you could never produce or achieve on your own?
3. What are the good things in your life (health, productivity, success, etc.) that you can pause right now and thank God for in an attitude of worship?
4. In the past, how has the unexpected, the unplanned, the unwanted, or the painful made you react with panic? Why do you think panic was your knee-jerk reaction? How can you leave that panic at the feet of Jesus the next time suffering comes around?
5. How do you think weakness can be specifically used by God in your life? How do you think weakness can expose the areas of your heart that are not currently yielded to God? Why are your delusions of strength something to be feared instead of your weaknesses? How can your weaknesses be embraced to become your spiritual “super power” in life? What kinds of decisions can you make right now that set you up for embracing your weaknesses when they come along? Take some time to pray right now and ask God to help you be a life-giving representation of him to others in your circle of influence, specifically with how you use your words.