I know, that title makes no sense.  But if you stay with me, I think you’ll see that there’s an incredible biblical truth buried in that seemingly contradictory phrase.

Let’s start with one of my favorite scripture texts that deals most directly with this subject and then we’ll take it apart a bit and find some application.

But he [God] said to me {Paul}, “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.  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Clearly this is reminding us that we essentially have very little of our own power to contribute to our efforts.  Ultimately, it’s God’s strength that undergirds our feeble attempts to do virtually anything.  In fact that’s exactly when God’s power is most noticeably on display in our lives.

If I’m honest, I have kind of a love/hate relationship with this verse. The human, self-sufficient part of me wants to believe that I am strong enough to take on anything that comes my way.  And yet, the “Child of God” part understands the truth in this statement.

So when widowhood befell me 4 ½ years ago, I got a crash course on what it feels like to have virtually no strength of my own.  Nothing in my life up to that point had ever brought me so completely to my knees as the death of my husband. I felt stripped of every ounce of self-sufficiency I thought I had in abundance.

But not only did it bring me to my knees from the weight of the loss, it brought me to my knees in prayer.  And therein lies the “magic” of this mystery.

The biggest mountain I have ever faced, and tried to overcome through my own “toughness,” was the same mountain that led me to my only true source of strength.

God doesn’t want or need to fight for supremacy in our lives. In fact, if we tell him that we’ve got this one, he’ll likely just let us run with it.  Any guesses how those efforts turn out?  In my experience, it’s anywhere from mildly successful to total disasters!

No, he wants us to recognize the full extent of our weakness and how he wants to step into that weakness and do incredible good through it.

So this is how I make sense of the title.  The mountain I faced as a widow was navigating life without my greatest earthly love – Dale.  The weakness this season in my life opened up was my inability to function in any way that would give God glory.  Mostly I wanted to feel sorry for myself and attend an everlasting pity party.

That’s the weakness part of this.

But INTO that weakness, just as he promised in the earlier text, God boldly, capably, lovingly, and gloriously stepped. He essentially said to me, “Step aside, Lynne.  I’ve got this.”

I can only point to this ministry as proof that he fulfills his promises.  I’ve said a million times, “God writes through me; God speaks through me.”  It’s truly how I feel every time I step onto a stage or sit down in my office chair to begin writing.

It’s one of the greatest blessings I’ve ever experienced, and it came to be ONLY because I faced the most monumental challenge in my life.

Obviously, not everyone reading this blog is a widow or widower.  But I bet every single one of you has faced a mountain of your own.  One that showcased your own weaknesses, even if that happened AFTER you attempted to climb the mountain in your own strength.

Regardless of your loss or trial, this principle applies to you. God wants to step into your greatest heartaches and work in and through your life so that others can see his amazing power.

If you think about it, it’s pretty silly for us to think that the better approach is to take on our mountains alone.  Why in the world wouldn’t we want the all-powerful creator of the universe to take over for us?

What’s our part in this?  Not as simple as I make it sound.  It means laying aside our pride, our control, our desires, and humbly laying it all at Jesus’ feet. And then doing it again. And again.

But I do believe the more we see the results God brings from our obedience in this area, the more we will desire his power over ours. It’s a beautiful way to walk through this life with all its challenges.

What does your mountain look like? What “mountain climbing tools” of your own are you using? Are you weary of the climb? Would you like someone stronger than you to take over?  Then it’s as simple (yet difficult) as laying your own [in]abilities aside, and giving the reins to God.

If you do that, you can live out the truth in that 2 Corinthians text.  That’s why it’s there.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might,

for all endurance and patience with joy.

Colossians 1:11