Vulnerability

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." ~ Psalm 51:17 (NIV)

vul-ner-a-ble (adj.) - capable of being physically or emotionally wounded (as per Merriam-Webster online dictionary)

When you are vulnerable, you are completely open. You are at your weakest. You are susceptible to attacks. Everything has been stripped away. You feel completely and utterly helpless. Does this sound familiar at all? Have you ever been at this point?
This is a hard place to be. I've been there only a few times in my life, and let me just say that it's not comfortable. Too often we like to be in control. We make ourselves out to be powerful. We are independent. We know what is going on, and we can handle any situation. But according to this verse in Psalm, that is not how God wants us to be. 

You see, when we are at our very weakest, that's when God is able to use us. Once we have stripped away all of the notions that we are strong and in charge, we are open to God coming in and cleaning us up. In the moments of our vulnerability, we recognize that we need Someone who is greater than us to take care of us. We understand that we cannot do things on our own. 

Paul, one of the greatest evangelists of all time, knew exactly what it felt like to be weak. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks of how God gave him a thorn in his flesh, a "messenger of Satan" to torment him. He begged and pleaded with God to take this away. We don't know exactly what this thorn was, but we do know that it caused Paul lots of pain, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually. He struggled with this thing. It weakened and exhausted him. Yet read what he writes after this: 

"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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

Can't you see? Unless we let God strip us of our pride, we will never be able to truly glorify Him. Unless we get rid of our idols and put Him first in our lives, we amount to nothing. Our lives have no meaning and purpose. Unless we become weak, we can never be strong. 

It's only when we are completely vulnerable that God's power is manifest in us. Paul also writes in 1 Corinthians 1:17: "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

Many times God is pictured as a Potter and we are pictured as the clay. Imagine a piece of clay that is already hardened into a lump. Human potters can't use this. It can't be molded into anything because it is too hard. But imagine a piece of clay that is weak and pliable. This piece of clay is able to be stretched and moved and turned into something useful, such as a pot or bowl. 

Unless we rid ourselves of our false sense of pride, we can never be made into something beautiful. We must empty ourselves. We must allow God to break us and mold us. The process is not always pretty. Often it's very painful to be stretched our of our comfort zone, but the end result is glorious. God can take something as ugly as a lump of clay and turn it into something beautiful. And He will do that if you allow Him. 

I am a very stubborn person. I like to think of myself as independent. I can handle things on my own. I hate when other people tell me what to do. My friends, this is a lie straight from the pit of hell! This is exactly what Satan wants us to think. He wants us to distance ourselves from God and put our trust in our own strength because he knows then that we are giving into our sinful nature. Flee from the temptation to think of yourselves better than others! 

Empty yourselves. Bare your soul to God and let Him see to the very depths of your heart. There are no secrets with God anyway. He can see into your life whether you want Him to or not, but He wants you to be willing. He wants you to work with Him because it makes the process a lot easier. Part of our free will is that God isn't always going to dig in without us allowing Him. There are exceptions to this, but often if your heart is hardened against Him, He will allow you to continue in your ways until you wake up and change. 

Being vulnerable is not a comfortable feeling. I hate feeling vulnerable, but then again, it's such a good place to be. You recognize that you are weak, and you open yourself completely to God's power and healing. 

When you feel at your weakest, then will God make you your strongest.