Jesus & Your Weakness | Acts 4:13

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer so far. I wanted to hop on and share something God has been teaching me. If you've been dealing with any kind of self-doubt or feeling unable to deal with weakness, this is for you. Weaknesses aren't a bad thing--they are the perfect vessel to bring glory to Jesus and make him known.

In Acts 4:13, Peter and John are on trial before the Sanhedrin--the 70-ish membered group of snobby religious leaders--for speaking about Jesus publically. The Sanhedrin didn't like the disciples teaching about Jesus because it threatened their ability to control the Jews. Peter, despite the opposition, spoke boldly through the Holy Spirit to the Sanhedrin, making the Holy Spirit's presence in Peter and John obvious.

When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. - Acts 4:13

The most amazing part is how Peter and John spoke compared to their knowledge and experience. The Sanhedrin were highly educated, regarded as the most knowledgeable experts in Jewish law. They were big-dog religious brainiacs. Peter and John, on the other hand, had absolutely no formal education and were merely simple fishermen.

Thus, when placed to defend themselves before the Sanhedrin, the religious experts would be the obvious favorite to win the legal arguments. But that's not what happened. The Holy Spirit enabled Peter to speak boldly and eloquently despite his weaknesses, showing the Sanhedrin the presence of Jesus in him.

Jesus can do the same for your weaknesses, too. Whatever you feel less-than in, ask Jesus to help you use it for His glory. If you didn't perform well in your sport, you can bring glory to Him by choosing joy anyway and working hard in practice. If you're struggling with body image, you can bring glory to Him by reminding yourself you were made by the perfect God that doesn't make mistakes. And the list goes on! Don't let the Devil fringe on your confidence, Christian. Channel your weaknesses into strength from Him by asking Jesus to work through your weaknesses to bring Him glory. Your identity is not in how good you are at any given thing--it is in the Savior that paid the price to redeem you!

(Also, there is a great song about this very topic -- check out "If You Only Knew!" by Sam Rivera and Evan Craft)