I resolve to be content with my imperfections and weakness and give thanks for God’s power.

5 Days of Imperfect Resolutions: A Devotional for Imperfect Woman

5 Days of Imperfect Resolutions aren’t your normal New Year resolutions. They’re resolutions that are made in full consideration of life’s inevitable challenges and realities. And in case you’re already feeling a little overwhelmed here at the starting line of 2019, I think you’ll find these resolutions more encouraging than burdensome.

I’ll be posting a daily devotional here, but I’d love to give you a printable copy!

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Day 2

But we have this treasure in jars of clay,
to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
~ 2 Corinthians 4:7

I love pottery. It’s functional, it’s earthy, and it reflects its maker. It’s molded with care and made ready for use in the intense heat of a kiln. For all the thought and time that goes into it, a piece of pottery is still imperfect and fragile. It’s a lot like us.

Have you ever considered that God made us weak on purpose? I realize that might not sound so great at first, but it is! Think about it. Day after day we wake to tasks that are bigger than us, problems that elude simple answers, struggles that overwhelm and bring us to the end of our strength. The message around us is “try harder, get up earlier, plan better.” But for all our striving, we so often lay our heads on our pillows at night with a sense that we’re just not enough.

We want to believe we’re titanium, but we really are clay.

It’s humbling, but accepting our weakness brings freedom as it relieves us of expectations that we were never meant to meet. God has given us this treasure, the message and hope of the gospel, in a fragile jar of clay intentionally and by design, so we will know the power is his and not ours.

Paul goes on to describe a reality that, if we’re honest, is much more familiar than our big plans:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:8–11)

Paul’s frank acknowledgement of the difficulty of his circumstance is both sobering and comforting. It reflects a heart that is focused on something more than his immediate well-being. Paul is all about proclaiming the good news of Jesus.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

As followers of Jesus, this is our mission as well. Aligning our hearts and minds with our mission helps us to see more clearly as we reflect on our past, are faithful in our present, and make plans for our future.

I resolve to be content with my imperfections and weakness and give thanks for God’s power.

I resolve to be content with my imperfections and weakness and give thanks for God’s power.

Your turn . . .

Do you find it hard to be content with being a “jar of clay”? How might that truth be freeing?

Reflect on a time when you have experienced the reality Paul describes (afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, etc.) and have seen the evidence of God’s power in your weakness. 

 

If you missed it, you can go HERE for Day 1. And be sure to check back tomorrow for another imperfect resolution and encouragement for your day and new year!

 

Photo credit: Hilary Hyland Photography

 

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