GCD Weekly Newsletter 07/18/2022

"True Strength Lies in Knowing We Are Weak"

When I finished high school sports, I vowed to never do squats again. I always enjoyed working out but hated leg day, especially squats. For twenty years I faithfully kept my promise. I’ve continued to work out, but only upper body and cardio. With hard work and determination, I stayed faithful to my promise.

However, over the past few years, I’ve gotten serious about run training. As my desire for faster times increased, I eventually came to realize the sad truth that my progress will be greatly limited if I don’t work out my legs. I’ll need the power and stamina to keep the pace I am shooting for, and one of the best ways to get there is by doing squats.

Several months ago I added the dreaded workout into my training plan. I had to start small, and it was often quite embarrassing. However, after months of training, last week I added an amount of weight I never thought I would squat again…and I was successful! I couldn’t wait to tell my friend how much I was able to do!

Reaching any lofty goal is fun and stirs in us a desire to tell others. One thing that none of us ever really get excited about is weakness. We’ll boast in or about just about anything except being weak.

Yet, Scripture tells us that true power comes when we realize how weak we are and trust in the grace of Christ. I want to be like Paul and realize that my only boast is in my weakness. But this goes against my natural thinking and grates against my pride, so I need regular reminders. Last week’s articles provide helpful reminders that true strength lies in knowing we are weak.

Last Week at GCDiscipleship.com

My Badge of Weakness
— by Tim Shorey (timothyshorey.com)

“It’s pretty humbling. What has done people the most amount of good in my ministry? Not my eloquence. Not my style. Not my great wisdom or insight. Not my leadership gifts. None of these has preached the gospel most effectively. My pain has.”

Jesus Wants You To Know You Are Weak
— by Chrys Jones (@chrys_jones, dwellwithchrist.com)

“Can we agree that the hustle culture led to the burnout culture we are facing today? Yesterday’s productivity culture ended up crushing us. We lose our humanness when we refuse to see our weakness.”

Letters to the Editor

We’d love to hear from you. Please send feedback about our articles (or anything else!) to our managing editor at Benjamin@GCDiscipleship.com. And if you’ll allow us, we’ll share your comments in future emails.

The GCD Writer’s Guild

Here at GCD, we run a small social network catered to Christian writers. As a writer myself, I know that it can often feel like a thankless and solitary task, and it sometimes leads me to believe the lie I must be the only one experiencing that. If you’re a writer and you feel like that too, the GCD Writer’s Guild is for you. We provide regular writing prompts, we help to provide each other helpful critique, and we champion and cheer on the work of other writers in the Guild. We welcome writers of every level, from communicators who are just getting started to published authors. Our aim is to encourage and help each other along in saying what is good, true, and beautiful and to create a culture that glorifies Christ.

If you’d like to join, or you simply want to know more, click here for more details:

In Christ,

James Williams