My Weakness, His Strength

“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 of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

What better way to boast in our weakness than to share testimonies? Stories from when we were so hard-hearted, failing as we tried to white-knuckle life on our own. Stories where the only possible explanation for how we made it through, and how we’ve gotten to where we are today, is by the power of Christ. I may have gotten the chance to share my story and testimony with a couple of you these last four weeks, but there are still many that I haven’t had the chance to. So here is a bit of my testimony, and I hope that as you read, it will serve to encourage you and display the magnificent power of Christ.

My story starts with growing up in a God-fearing household that discipled me and taught biblical values from a young age. My dad has been a pastor my whole life, and both of my parents have always raised me to live a Christian life. My parents did the best they could to give an example of what it means to truly fear God and live under His Lordship, but that doesn’t mean I would. God still had to call my individual heart to receive His grace and have my life changed.

This took place at the beginning of high school when my dad began doing a weekly study with me in Scripture. Almost every week for the next five years, we would go book by book through Scripture, and he would disciple me. Specifically, during the first study we had, my dad asked me this question: “How do you know when God is speaking to you through His Word?” For probably the first time in my pastor’s-kid life, I was at a loss for words on how to answer this question. Up until this point, I had never thought of Scripture as something I needed to humble myself before and approach with a willingness to let its authoritative truth convict and change my life.

This might not have been the first time I could have given you the gospel message, but it was the first time that message had wrecked and changed my life. As my dad and I worked through the book of Galatians, chapter 2, verse 20 had a huge impact on my early walk with the Lord. The idea that it was no longer I who lived, but Christ inside of me, and that I live by complete faith, relying on Him. It is only by the power of Christ that I get to say that verse is true of my life, which sadly isn’t the case for so many kids I have known who grew up in church.

From that point on, life has been filled with more weakness, hardships, and times when I have been brought to my knees in tears before the Lord. Yet through all these times, God has shown me that “[His] power is made perfect in weakness.”

Blessings,

David Doty