EMBRACE YOUR TIME OF WEAKNESS

We all go through seasons of weakness.

It could be caused by an event, or triggered by a person. It could be a feeling of betrayal or a weight that crushes your soul until you cannot breathe.

You become someone you don’t recognize. You feel your identity has been lost or you are questioning your faith. Maybe your core beliefs of the world have been shattered.

You are left confused. You are doubting everything you have ever known or been. You trust absolutely no one.

In that moment, you are the weakest you have ever been. You are vulnerable to everything, and full of fear and uncertainty.

You don’t know which way to turn or what actions to take.

You don’t know who you can trust or listen to.

You have been so badly hurt that the smallest of wind can topple you over.

But resist the urge to flee out of this weakness. It is a hard and painful time for your soul, but it can become the greatest moment of your life. This is a valuable time when God can do great work in your life if you let Him.

Embrace the weakness, learn from it, and become stronger once again.

But in order to embrace your time of weakness, you must understand why it is there in the first place. You must reflect on what happened and how it caused you to go into this weak state.

Become Introspective

The word introspective is derived from the word introspection. Which, according to Oxford Languages, means, “the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes.”

When your body has been beaten down to where you are only the shell of your previous self, you must take the time to put yourself first. You must allow yourself time to rest, recuperate, and heal properly. And to do this you must take a step back from the world.

Take A Step Back From The World

A million voices will be waiting to talk to you. To tell you what you should have done, to tell you where you are going and what you need to do now.

Many amazing self-help podcasts are there to help you take the next steps forward.

Many alcohols and drugs are there to try to make your pain vanish into thin air as if it wasn’t harming you.

Many friends are waiting to pump you up and give you confidence.

Many strangers and loved ones are ready to give you their life experience advice.

There are tons of books already written for someone with problems like you.

But right now, that’s not what you need, at least not yet.

For right now you just need to be alone with yourself. Alone in your thoughts, alone in your time spent, away from distractions and cares of this world. Other people’s problems are not important right now. The people pulling you every which way have no say in your current life.

A broken person cannot properly heal others. They will either completely destroy themselves or possibly break others too.

At this present time, you must do the bare minimum for others so you can help rebuild yourself.

It might mean taking some time off work. It might mean telling people that no, you can’t help them. It might mean being away from family for a little bit. It might mean shutting off your internet so there are no interruptions or distractions.

It might mean being vulnerable in front of your kids since they are always there and telling them no. No, you can’t play with them right now. No, they can’t have friends over. No, you are not at their beck and call.

There were times when even Jesus would take a step back in his earthly ministry. He would go somewhere remote and quiet where no one could find him. He would go there to rest. He would go there to replenish his soul and body.

God says in Ecclesiastes 3, “To everything, there is a season.”

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

These verses say there is a time to heal, to build up, to weep, to mourn, to embrace, to refrain from embracing, to lose, to cast away, to keep silence, to speak, and to hate.

During this time you might need to do all of these things, and that is ok. God says we can make time for it and that we should make time for it. Why?

Because there is a purpose under heaven for them.

You will not know the purpose God has designed for this weak state. You might never understand why God allowed this to happen. But you know He did it for a good reason because God never does anything bad. He can’t do evil, only good. God will use it in ways you never dreamed possible. He will mold you into someone far better than you were before.

Even if you are alone from the world during this time, He is still there. So, are you really alone? You are just having quality time with God.

Evaluate The Cause Of Your Weakness (Psalm 4), (I Chronicles 16:11), (I John 1:8-10)

While you are sitting in your weakness, you really need to think about what happened.

What caused you to be weak? How did it happen? Did you misinterpret something? Could you be wrong about what happened?

Did you do something wrong on your end? Were you part of the reason things escalated and became how they ended?

Is this situation showing a weakness in your character? In your moral compass? In your priorities and opinions?

Was there a boundary that could have been placed to help prevent what happened? Was there a conversation that could have been said before now? Was there a friendship that should have been left behind already because it was more harm than good?

Did we cling to something that we shouldn’t have? Did we force ourselves somewhere or with someone that we did not belong?

Did we do nothing to deserve this and yet we were still hurt? And if so, could I have seen it coming? Were there signs that I missed?

All of these questions might lead to more questions, but that is part of the healing process. You must allow your brain to ask them now so you can know what answers to search for later.

They will not all be answered. But they will all lead you to the answers you need to know.

Do the hard work of understanding what happened and where you should move forward to so you can put this to rest FOR GOOD.

And although you are mostly asking yourself these questions, remember, God wants you to talk to Him too.

He wants to hear your questions. He wants to hear the muddled words barely coming through your tears because He knows what you are trying to say. He wants to be the one you look to for the answers. To be the one to comfort you in your suffering.

When Jesus was taking his time of rest, he was still talking to God. During those times he was constantly in prayer. Why? Because God is the one that gives our lives direction. He is the only one who can steer us in the right way we need to go.

He is the only one who can replenish our souls.

He gives us clarity in our situations. He gets rid of the confusion and chaos invading our lives. He gives us peace and order. And He is the one that loves you the most in this whole world.

There was a time in my life when God was literally the only one I trusted. He was the only voice I was willing to listen to and believe in.

I knew that He wouldn’t tell me lies. I knew that He understood my situation and would give me the right advice. I knew that His Bible would give me the strength and the knowledge that I needed to heal. I knew that my prayers to Him were being heard with no misunderstandings. He understood my heart and motives. He knew the backstory and the pain. He knew it all, and yet He still wanted me to say it to Him.

His goal for us in this weakened state is to let us see His strength. When I am weak, He is strong. And He has enough strength for everyone and it is inexhaustible.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We become strong through our trusting in God and the closer relationship that forms, through our dedication, or rededication to our lives in Him.

Don’t Rush Out Of The Weakness

You might feel tempted to become strong again ASAP. Or to pretend you are healed in very little time because you simply don’t have the time to take care of yourself. Or maybe you are not good at taking care of yourself because you were never allowed to or taught that you were worth being cared for.

Do not push aside your weakness until you are ready to begin healing. It will hurt you in the end. It will haunt your future self and future relationships.

If you rush out of it, you never actually finish going through it and it will still be there, in your mind subconsciously and in your body’s reactions. It will play with your thoughts and emotions.

It will affect every area of your life.

Stay weak until you are ready to be healed. And then you must heal at your own pace.

Don’t let anyone force you to be ok for them. Don’t rush so you can be who you were before. Your life has changed forever. You are not the same person before the grief and hurt that you have felt. You must recognize the reality of your weakness and come to terms with it.

I’m not saying be rude or mean to other people because you’re hurting. I’m not saying you should stay depressed and never leave your bed or eat food. I am not saying that you should stay in this state of being forever.

I am just saying right now, it is ok to not be ok. You need to focus on yourself and take the time to heal properly. Do not rush the healing process. But keep moving forward out of the miry clay.

God never takes you immediately to the finish line. But He will bring you there step-by-step, holding your hand if you let Him, with His Spirit guiding your soul.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

Psalm 40:2

Be Aware Of The Lies (John 17:17), (Titus 1:2), (John 8:44), (2 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Like I said before, when you are weak you are extremely vulnerable. And Satan loves to attack and hurt the vulnerable. He will strike at any time, but when you are so low in happiness, love, and worth, that is the easiest time to harm you. He can do it through your peers or through yourself.

And let’s be real. That is his goal in life. To harm you, to harm others, and to make you harm others. Why? Because he hates God, and everything God loves, which is you. And He knows that he can’t directly attack God. So what’s the next best thing? Attack those that God loves.

Satan is the father of lies.

And his favorite lies to tell are always sprinkled with a little bit of truth. Just enough to make it plausibly accurate and to play with your mind and emotions.

You might have done a great deed with a pure motive and he can slap it back at you claiming that you did it to be praised and recognized for the great deed because you’re actually a people-pleasing narcissist.

You might have cut off a relationship that was really bad for your life and he will be more than willing to call you a bigot, a snob, unloving, a bad Christian, and a selfish person.

He will attack you with words that cause the weakness to grow stronger and deeper.

He wants you to be quivering at his feet, unable to hear any other words, unable to look at yourself because of your own hatred of yourself.

And if you keep listening, he might even tell you that the best thing you can do is to kill yourself. That you are in fact doing the world a favor and that your life would be better out of this world.
That is the loudest lie that he tells to millions of people all over the world.

And unfortunately, many have believed him.

But I am begging you to please see them as what they are, they are lies. They are not the truth.

Even if you have committed the worst of sins, if you repent and see it for the wickedness that it is, there is mercy and grace at God’s hands. He would never tell you to kill yourself. He would never attack your emotions and thoughts.

God can get angry, and He does judge. But only to change a hardened heart from their wickedness, not to make them isolated and feel worthless.

And that is why it is so important to be close to God in your weakness! So He can show you what is the truth and what is a lie, because God cannot lie.

Build Something New

When you have reached rock bottom there is only one place left to go…up.

And to rise again out of the ashes we must build something new. Have a new foundation. Become a new person, one that is stronger, wiser, and ready to have a better life.

You must learn something through this weakness. Some life lessons that you can hold to for the rest of your life. Some personal traits or moral standards that will help this never happen again.

Or maybe it was all done to help you accept that you were not where God wanted you to be or with whom you were loving and supporting. Maybe God had to take extreme measures to cause you to listen to His voice.

And did it work? Have you heard His voice? Have you read your Bible to find the answers or prayed to Him what is in your heart and mind?

Are you choosing to change or remain the same? Are you crawling back to the same heartache and punishment you left?

All people fall into weakness at one time or another, but the sad truth is many decide to stay there forever.

Let this weakness be your wake-up call. Let it be a warning sign to you that something is not right.

Embrace the weakness that you have found yourself in. Use it to heal and draw closer to God. Don’t be afraid of change and discomfort. It is only temporary.

In time, you will rise with wings like eagles. God will give you strength. Your weakness will be a thing of the past, only a memory to help others through their weakness.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31