Verses I Don’t Believe – The Recipe for Strength

There are Bible verses I don’t believe.

There, I said it.

I think they make amazing statements.

I’m drawn to them and I know that because they come from God they’re true.

I would stitch them on a wall hanging,

Teach them to my children,

And meditate on them throughout the day

But I struggle to believe them to the level that they influence my daily perspective on life.

Take, for instance, 2 Corinthians 12:9-12 (ESV)

“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.”

I just don’t believe that when I’m weak, then I’m strong.

If I did, I’d be happier, believe me.

To my thinking, weak is just weak. And when I’m weak, I don’t feel strong, I feel like a loser. I don’t boast in my weaknesses, I work to hide them. I cover them with concealer. I press “delete.”

I’m not content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, or calamities. I rail against them. I weep. Loudly. I scramble and scratch like a cat about to fall into a full bathtub.

When confronted with any of these things, I flip out.

If I believed this verse, I’d be more relaxed and secure. I’d laugh more often. My prayers would be deeper and richer and more concerned with intercession than with pleading for God to please, please, please change my bad situation.

If I believed this verse, I wouldn’t cringe when people saw through me or when I stumbled in public. I would thank God that He would get the glory for whatever good He does through me.

If I believed that God’s grace is sufficient for me, I wouldn’t spend my time searching for additional solutions to my shortcomings, I would simply spend more time accessing His grace.

But I want to believe this verse.

I ask for the faith to believe this verse.

Because locked within these verses are promises of grace, sufficiency, power, contentment, and strength.

And a precious ingredient in this formula is my weakness.

Well, I’ve got that in spades.

Like a top shelf cook who offers to take the worst ingredients in your pantry and produce an unforgettable gourmet meal, Christ offers to take my weakness, my hardship, my calamities, and everything in my life I would reject, and use it to create strength fueled by His power.

He can even make me a believer.

That, I do believe.

How about you? What passage do you NOT believe?