strong-gles

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." ~Jesus

God uses our weaknesses to bring him glory. Lately I have seen the truth of Paul's words when he said, "for when I am weak, them I am strong- the less I have, the more I depend on Him." {2 Corinthians 12:10} Sometimes God has to take away the oridinary and the comfortable so that we can lean on him.
Last night at the Embassy we were talking about certain areas of sin and why, as a youth group, it is so hard to talk about our struggles with one another. A lot of discussion centered around the cause of our reservations and people said that things like shame, feelings of inadequecy, pride, fear of being judged, and te notion that others won't understand keep us from telling others about our struggle with sin. But the one things we didn't get into too deeply was what can happen if we DO share our struggles with others.
Sin and weakness do not go to waste. God uses every single one of them to further his kingdom. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" ~Romans 8:28. EVERYTHING. That means sin too. I think that sometimes we fail to see that how our weaknesses could have the potential to bless other people.
What? yea, yea, I know crazy right? but it's not. This past week other people's apparents weaknesses have helped me to come to terms with something I have struggled with for a long time.
God works in the most unexpected ways. He used someone else's sin to help me overcome my insecurities and learn something that I knew all along, but hadn't really accepted.
So often we stop ourselves for sharing our problems because we don't want to burden someone else. But the fact is, as Christians, we are a family and that means we're all in this together. Galatians 6:2 says, "bear one anothers burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ." We think we are a burden when we share our troubles, but Jesus calls us to share them!
Telling other people about your struggles can encourage them and help them. It sounds outlandish- i know, but it's true. When people see your imperfections you don't always lose credibility, in fact a lot of times you mgiht actually gain it. Sharing shows other people that you're not perfect; you're human too. God uses every single thing in our lives to bring him glory and to build us up. Don't let the fear of being rejected stop you. If we always hid ourselves, afraid of what poeple would think, how could God use us?
"like common pottery we are fragile and flawed and break easily. But God will use us if we allow him to work through our weaknesses." ~ Rick Warren
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." ~2 Corinthians 4:7