HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 319
page A317
How can I take full advantage of my strengths and minimize my
weaknesses?
• E X O DU S 3 6 :1 | “The Lord has gifted Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other skilled craftsmen
with wisdom and ability to perform any task involved in building the sanctuary. Let them
construct and furnish the Tabernacle, just as the Lord has commanded.”
• 1 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 2 :7 | A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
Use your strengths and skills to help others and to build and serve the church.
• E C C L E S I A S T E S 4 :1 2 | A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two
can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not
easily broken.
Join with others to help you minimize your weaknesses and maximize your strengths.
• E C C L E S I A S T E S 1 0 :1 0 | Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade.
That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
The more you grow in wisdom, the more you will be able to discern how to use your
strengths. Be a student of wisdom.
• 1 C O R I NT H I A NS 4 :7 | For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do
you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as
though it were not a gift?
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 2 :9 | Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best
in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ
can work through me.
Leaders are not always strong. In fact, the challenges, complexities, and demands of
leadership often reveal weaknesses. But God’s wisdom and power are demonstrated most
clearly in our weaknesses.
PROMISES FROM GOD
• Z E C H A R I A H 4 :6 | “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies.”
• E PH E SI A NS 3 :2 0 | Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work
within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Stress See also Adversity; Anxiety; Burnout; Conflict; Failure; Grief; Pain;
Persecution; Sin; Spiritual Warfare; Worry
Life sometimes causes us to feel like a rubber band stretched tight. Pressures build up
and pull us in different directions or pull against our sense of well-being. Trying to do too
much work with too little time or too few resources stretches us beyond our capacity.
Trying to live in today’s society with its many demands may put excessive stress on us.
Trying to cope with the financial demands of life without adequate income is a stretching
experience. Marital difficulties, difficulties in parent-child relationships, or any work or
relational difficulties can bring stress into life. What is the answer? We need a perspective that comes only from God.
What causes stress?
• G E NE SI S 3 :6 , 2 3 | So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her
husband . . . and he ate it, too. . . . So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden.
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Do leaders always have to be strong?
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Remember to give God the full credit for whatever strengths you have.
• J E R E MI A H 2 0 :1 1 | The Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my
persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly
humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.