Weakness is NOT Sin


About a year ago, I read a book entitled, Weakness is NOT sin. Many of the thoughts in this post come from this book. I highly recommend it.

Ether 12:27 - "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that they humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

God shows us our weakness. He gives us weakness. Notice that the scripture doesn't say that he gives us "weaknesses."

What is the difference? This scripture isn't talking about our anger issue, or our fear of commitment, or our susceptibility to fall into a particular sin. Rather, this scripture is talking about our general weakness. It is referring to the general idea that we are "less than the dust of the earth" (Helaman 12:7) and that while our spirit may be willing, "the flesh is weak"(Matthew 26:41)

So why does God show us our weakness? Why does He make it a point to remind us?

The Lord wants us to learn and to grow. He wants us to become as He is. Notice the word "if" from Ether 12:27. His grace is sufficient for all men and he will make our weakness strong if we humble ourselves. We must be humble because without humility, we would not turn to our Lord. Without our weakness, we would struggle to humble ourselves before the Lord. Most of us struggle to humble ourselves despite our painful weakness.

In reality, our weakness isn't a problem at all. Weakness is the tool used by the Lord to help us come unto Him. The problem arises when we forget our nothingness before the Lord. When we think we are smart enough or strong enough to progress without him, that is when we run into trouble. 

The closer we get to Christ, the more we will recognize our dependence on Him. We will notice our weakness more clearly as we draw nearer to Him. Recognizing our weakness and nothingness before the Lord will inspire us to follow Him. It will inspire us to submit to His will and be cleansed by redeeming love.  So let us face our weakness with hope, for as long as we are yoked with Christ, He will make weak things become strong unto them.

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