A lot has happened.
I've been through some exciting and amazing times. I've also experienced some of the most difficult and emotionally trying experiences I have ever been asked to endure.
I thought a few times about writing. Topics such as "hope," "not murmuring" and "forgiveness." But finally today I was able to piece together some thoughts. They stem from one of my very favorite scriptures:
"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 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."
Let's talk about it shall we? But instead of picking apart the entire verse, my focus will be almost entirely on the first line. It's kind of thought provoking if you think of what it's actually telling us...
...Is that even necessary? When you really think about it does the first sentence in that verse throw anyone else for a loop? Really. Is it entirely necessary to have that line in there? "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness." The first step is coming to God so He can show us our weakness? Like we don't already know them?
I mean I can only speak for myself, but my weaknesses stick out quite painfully in my mind. I don't think I need an angel popping up one night and being like "Well Andrew, God's made a list of your weaknesses! Congrats! Sorry it took so long, haha it's quite a list! Let's see, you tend to bury your emotions instead of talking about them, you handle a basketball like a three-legged rhinoceros, you spend too much time on Netflix..." Seriously though, I can figure out those (and a lot more!) just fine without the heavenly manifestation.
But the statement stands and the invitation is issued. "If men come unto me." There are no specific qualifications; no call for only the prideful or the morally dead of society to come to God to have their weakness illuminated. This tells me two things:
First: There is weakness in all of us. I'll spend some time talking about weakness later, but understand that weakness is different than "sin."
Second: The weakness of which the Lord is speaking is something we do not recognize, or at least not fully recognize, in ourselves until we come to Him and it is shown to us.
This concept is actually something that exists more in scripture than I thought it did: "the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace... that we have power..." (Jacob 4:7). So Jacob provides a second witness to us that our weakness will be shown us of God (footnotes in Jacob lead us to a third example in the D&C).
If this is true, that we must be shown our weakness by God, then that helps us quite a bit with determining what is meant by "weakness."
Weakness
Singular. Not plural. I know the popular reading for this verse is to throw in the plural "weaknesses" instead of the actual word "weakness" written in the verse. It's not just a typo or a singular occurrence either. "Weakness" in its singular form appears twice in Ether 12:27 (above), once in Jacob, and in one instance, by Nephi.
Now, I had my own theories about the meaning of weakness. From my research "weakness" was referring to moral and character flaws inherent in all of us as part of mortality and the "natural man." But I decided to look elsewhere in scripture and related content to lend some more insight.
In the Church official Guide to the Scriptures it says this under the heading Weakness: "The condition of being mortal...Weakness is a state of being." This is supported very well by Nephi when he states "because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh" (1 Ne 19:6)
Weakness then, refers to flaws in our character, blemishes on our interactions with others, and rough spots in our morals. Things to which we personally are blind. Think of it, if God's work and glory are to help us to heaven, then the weakness He will show us is not temporal, but spiritual. The things which only He can illuminate. The weakness we must come to Him in humility to strengthen are those deepest recesses of our souls where we hide our vices and our "favorite" flaws. The things we don't, or won't, see for ourselves.
That weakness is much harder to admit to ourselves than a mere difficulty with a sport or school subject.
*Please don't misunderstand. God can help us with every problem and trial in our lives. He is all powerful and can aid us with running a faster mile just as He can help us repent of sins. God has helped me in so many ways in my life I don't want anyone to ever doubt His enabling power in any of our lives. Perhaps the reason behind this distinction of what types of weakness to which this verse is referring is because weaknesses of character and spirit have a much greater impact on the eternal destination of our souls than weaknesses of a more temporal nature.*
Application
Not too long ago I had this experience myself. I was brought before the Lord in the depths of humility. I freely admit I was compelled to be humble, rather than choosing humility. The Lord showed me in stark contrast my weakness. My soul was probed and tried, and I came up lacking. I will be frank that it was an unpleasant experience. I don't think anyone likes to have criticism directed toward them, or flaws or weaknesses pointed out in their work, much less their character. But "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" and I felt very loved.
As hard as that and subsequent experiences of the same nature have been I don't know what or where I would be without them. Because of the perspective I gained I was able to start making changes in areas where previously I hadn't even seen a problem. I felt more self confident, more self aware, somehow more at peace with who I was and where I was headed with my life. I am still making changes and striving to allow the Lord to convert my weaknesses into strengths. Frankly, I have a long way to go. I think that's probably how it goes with this type of weakness. It's not a quick fix. But it sure feels good to be working on it.
It's hard to look at oneself in that kind of contrasting light and see in HD the imperfections of our souls. "The first step is admitting there's a problem" is a phrase I hear tossed around occasionally in jest and humor, but truly enough it is indeed the first step. That's why God put it first in the verse. He invites us to draw ourselves towards Him and let His light show us things that were previously hidden in the darkness.
As uncomfortable as this experience can be the Lord offers us the sweetest promise. "If they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Weakness into Strength
It's beautiful that the Lord says that He will change our weakness into strength. But notice He doesn't say it exactly that way. He says it in such a way that lets us know that it will be one weak thing at a time. "Then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Not the comprehensive "weakness into strength" but rather one weak thing at a time as we go through the process of letting Him show us some weak thing in ourselves, humbling ourselves before him, and exercising faith in Him. Then we repeat the process.
(Consider perhaps how prayer, humility, and faith are required for our "weak things" to be made strong.)
Conclusion
Of course I'm going to ask you to try it. What else would I say at this point? Approach God and let Him show you what He wants you to work on. Then put faith in His promise that by exercising humility and faith that He will make that weak think strong for you.
Please, I beg you. Let Him work in you.
Keep Pushing On
-Andrew
I mean I can only speak for myself, but my weaknesses stick out quite painfully in my mind. I don't think I need an angel popping up one night and being like "Well Andrew, God's made a list of your weaknesses! Congrats! Sorry it took so long, haha it's quite a list! Let's see, you tend to bury your emotions instead of talking about them, you handle a basketball like a three-legged rhinoceros, you spend too much time on Netflix..." Seriously though, I can figure out those (and a lot more!) just fine without the heavenly manifestation.
But the statement stands and the invitation is issued. "If men come unto me." There are no specific qualifications; no call for only the prideful or the morally dead of society to come to God to have their weakness illuminated. This tells me two things:
First: There is weakness in all of us. I'll spend some time talking about weakness later, but understand that weakness is different than "sin."
Second: The weakness of which the Lord is speaking is something we do not recognize, or at least not fully recognize, in ourselves until we come to Him and it is shown to us.
This concept is actually something that exists more in scripture than I thought it did: "the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace... that we have power..." (Jacob 4:7). So Jacob provides a second witness to us that our weakness will be shown us of God (footnotes in Jacob lead us to a third example in the D&C).
If this is true, that we must be shown our weakness by God, then that helps us quite a bit with determining what is meant by "weakness."
Weakness
Singular. Not plural. I know the popular reading for this verse is to throw in the plural "weaknesses" instead of the actual word "weakness" written in the verse. It's not just a typo or a singular occurrence either. "Weakness" in its singular form appears twice in Ether 12:27 (above), once in Jacob, and in one instance, by Nephi.
Now, I had my own theories about the meaning of weakness. From my research "weakness" was referring to moral and character flaws inherent in all of us as part of mortality and the "natural man." But I decided to look elsewhere in scripture and related content to lend some more insight.
In the Church official Guide to the Scriptures it says this under the heading Weakness: "The condition of being mortal...Weakness is a state of being." This is supported very well by Nephi when he states "because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh" (1 Ne 19:6)
Weakness then, refers to flaws in our character, blemishes on our interactions with others, and rough spots in our morals. Things to which we personally are blind. Think of it, if God's work and glory are to help us to heaven, then the weakness He will show us is not temporal, but spiritual. The things which only He can illuminate. The weakness we must come to Him in humility to strengthen are those deepest recesses of our souls where we hide our vices and our "favorite" flaws. The things we don't, or won't, see for ourselves.
That weakness is much harder to admit to ourselves than a mere difficulty with a sport or school subject.
*Please don't misunderstand. God can help us with every problem and trial in our lives. He is all powerful and can aid us with running a faster mile just as He can help us repent of sins. God has helped me in so many ways in my life I don't want anyone to ever doubt His enabling power in any of our lives. Perhaps the reason behind this distinction of what types of weakness to which this verse is referring is because weaknesses of character and spirit have a much greater impact on the eternal destination of our souls than weaknesses of a more temporal nature.*
Application
It should be no surprise to anyone that this scripture has no end point for us. We will never reach a point in our lives where the invitation to again approach the Lord and be shown our weakness will no longer apply. We will all have weaknesses the Lord can show us till the end of our mortal lives. We must start now then! There's no time to waste if we are to prepare ourselves to meet Him. How can we approach Him at the bar and expect to be welcomed in when we never let Him show us what might be holding us back.
Approach Him, and let Him show you.
Not too long ago I had this experience myself. I was brought before the Lord in the depths of humility. I freely admit I was compelled to be humble, rather than choosing humility. The Lord showed me in stark contrast my weakness. My soul was probed and tried, and I came up lacking. I will be frank that it was an unpleasant experience. I don't think anyone likes to have criticism directed toward them, or flaws or weaknesses pointed out in their work, much less their character. But "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" and I felt very loved.
As hard as that and subsequent experiences of the same nature have been I don't know what or where I would be without them. Because of the perspective I gained I was able to start making changes in areas where previously I hadn't even seen a problem. I felt more self confident, more self aware, somehow more at peace with who I was and where I was headed with my life. I am still making changes and striving to allow the Lord to convert my weaknesses into strengths. Frankly, I have a long way to go. I think that's probably how it goes with this type of weakness. It's not a quick fix. But it sure feels good to be working on it.
It's hard to look at oneself in that kind of contrasting light and see in HD the imperfections of our souls. "The first step is admitting there's a problem" is a phrase I hear tossed around occasionally in jest and humor, but truly enough it is indeed the first step. That's why God put it first in the verse. He invites us to draw ourselves towards Him and let His light show us things that were previously hidden in the darkness.
As uncomfortable as this experience can be the Lord offers us the sweetest promise. "If they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Weakness into Strength
It's beautiful that the Lord says that He will change our weakness into strength. But notice He doesn't say it exactly that way. He says it in such a way that lets us know that it will be one weak thing at a time. "Then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Not the comprehensive "weakness into strength" but rather one weak thing at a time as we go through the process of letting Him show us some weak thing in ourselves, humbling ourselves before him, and exercising faith in Him. Then we repeat the process.
(Consider perhaps how prayer, humility, and faith are required for our "weak things" to be made strong.)
Conclusion
Of course I'm going to ask you to try it. What else would I say at this point? Approach God and let Him show you what He wants you to work on. Then put faith in His promise that by exercising humility and faith that He will make that weak think strong for you.
Please, I beg you. Let Him work in you.
Keep Pushing On
-Andrew
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