Getting religious today.
The scripture is Ether 12:27: "And if men come onto 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."
I've heard a few different interpretations for this verse, mainly about what it means to have weak things become strong. Does it mean that weaknesses become strengths? Maybe. But I don't really think so. As I've gotten older and lived more life, experienced more trials and challenges, I've come to think its more that we become strong because of our weakness.
Our weaknesses have the purpose of keeping us humble, which also makes us more likely to seek the Lord's help in overcoming those weaknesses. With the help of our Heavenly Father and Savior, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we can overcome the challenges of our weaknesses. This makes me think of how our bodies change as we exercise. As we walk/run, lift weights, etc., our bodies get stronger and are able to do more for longer. I think the same things happens on a spiritual level when go to our Heavenly Father in humble prayer to do better with the things in our lives that are hard. The weakness doesn't really go away or suddenly become something that is strong - more that we become stronger and more able to overcome.
I saw a quote today that I feel connects with this concept (and my apologies: I couldn't find it again, so I don't know who to give credit to). It was this: "Our trials don't define us, but they can refine us." What an important message!
Maybe we have made poor or unwise choices in the past. Maybe we've allowed temptation to to get the better of us. Maybe we've allowed some "weakness" to become a crutch or excuse. If you're like me, you can feel a lot of guilt over such things and can really beat yourself up over it. But the trials we endure and the challenges we face because of our weaknesses don't have to define us. That's the beautiful thing about choices and repentance - we have the opportunity to change. Putting in the work and the effort to change and do better is what refines us.
It's not easy to look at ourselves and see our weaknesses as opportunities to grow. For some of us, seeing those weaknesses can make us feel like we're failing. But I believe as we keep trying to do better, and we keep trying to make good choices, our Heavenly Father will bless us with the strength to do and be better - He will make us strong.
