Beauty in Weakness

Beauty Revealed in Our Weakness

How do we women gird ourselves with strength when we feel tired and overwhelmed?  How can the Proverbs 31 woman be always strong, always wise, always kind, and never fear?  I don’t know about you, but most days I don’t feel up to par on all those things.  What is her secret? It’s the grace of God. 

The most important thing I have learned and this learned through my weakest moments, is what grace actually is.  Real righteousness is by grace through faith. Grace actually does the works in us. When we try to do works, we just get in the way of grace. Paul called it frustrating the grace of God. But if we let grace reign in our lives, grace will do righteous works in us. Grace, in Greek, is the word, charis -the power of God for His work. 

This is what the Bible talks about when it says, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”  What a concept.  Is that what Proverbs 31 is talking about?  I believe it is giving us a taste of what a weak woman who walks in the grace of God looks like.  When I’m up to my ears in laundry, dishes, appointments, obligations, and kids, tired and overwhelmed, those are the greatest moments to lift my hands to the Lord and cry out for help.

This continual connection with Jesus and his power is what brings kindness, peace, and wisdom to my heart’s attitude.  When I stop striving to get everything accomplished in my own strength, calling out to God with an honesty revealing my true weakness and absolute dependency on him, I find an inner peace, calm, and strength I didn’t have before.  Things seem to get done without me using up all my strength and energy. 

When I get low on those virtues, I immediately close my eyes and take a moment to ask God for his grace and wisdom. Some of my greatest parenting wisdom has come from my lowest, weakest moments when a desperate prayer to God showed me what was going on and what to do.

I’ve noticed my priorities change as I include God in my day to day activities.  The stress and importance I had placed on having the cleanest home has been balanced with making sure I still have the time and energy to go play tag with my kids outside.  As I ask God for strength, my house stays clean enough, and my children have a nice Mommy!  The scripture 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says it all.

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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong

I am convinced this is the only way our lives can reflect a beautiful Proverbs 31 woman. Others, including our husbands and children, will see that difference in us and be drawn to the love of our Savior. And when we fail, His grace is there to pick us up and give us another chance.

By His grace,

Jane