Weak

I long to be strong
full of vitality
energy to spare
wide awake
brain in gear
muscles ready
motivation engaged
purposed possessed
raring to go
unstoppable zeal
a competitor
a completer
the envy of others
no frailties
no worries
no regrets

But you have rendered me weak
unable to be what I once was
ever again
not in this life
the old me
gone

I cannot live as I once did
I cannot do what I once did
I cannot press through
what you have chosen for me
I cannot escape
I cannot break free
I cannot will for something better

Weakness is my lot
Suffering is my prison
You have chained me to frailty
I cannot break free

But this prison is your workroom
and I am your clay
You are not a jailer
You are a potter
I have not been condemned
I am being molded
Your hands have been heavy
Your push on me is hard
When the soil is resistant
the molding is violent

My weakness is not about what I am
enduring
My weakness is about what I am
becoming
My travail does not preach your
anger
My travail preaches your
grace

This prison is your classroom
I am learning
Your presence
I am learning
Your promises
I am learning
Your power
I am learning
Your mercy
I am learning
Your gospel
I am learning
learning
learning

The danger for me was never
weakness
The danger has always been
my delusions of
strength

You have shattered my delusion
and in shattering have proven
My strength is and has always been
you

God bless

Paul David Tripp

Reflection Questions

1. Are you afraid of weakness? What about being made weak – and not just physically – scares you?
2. Study 2 Corinthians 12:9-11. Why should we, like the Apostle Paul, boast and delight in weakness?
3. Are you at risk of falling for the delusion of your own strength? Think specifically – where are some of the areas in which you excel? Are you taking credit for what only God could produce?
4. Meditate on verses like Isaiah 29:16, Jeremiah 18:6, Isaiah 45:9, or Isaiah 64:8. Remind yourself, “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
5. What steps can you take to change your perspective, from no longer seeing difficulty as a prison but rather the potter’s workroom?