“If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.” ~ Brene Brown
When I was still very young, I learned that being vulnerable was the same as being weak. That was just not allowed. My dad did not like weakness at all and would tell his boys that we needed to be strong. We were not allowed to be weak or show weakness. Emotions, especially crying, were hardly an option for us as they, too, would reflect a vulnerability to others.
As I grew older, I found that definition of vulnerability verified by television. I liked watching a lot of war movies. I can’t begin to count the number of times I would see a general or an admiral examine charts of battle plans and speak about the enemy being vulnerable in a certain place. That vulnerability was to be exploited and attacked so that the enemy could be vanquished.
If we have internalized that definition and attitude of vulnerability, today’s quote will be quite unsettling. However, today’s quote is very necessary to consider. We are all vulnerable people. We are living in a world tainted by sin and surrounded by temptation galore, temptation that would do its best to lure us off the path to the Kingdom.
The world treats us very much like a general at war. It looks at our vulnerability to determine how best to exploit us. It sends temptations our way in hopes that we will succumb to them. In doing so, the world hopes to vanquish us. We often feel as if there is no hope and we rue, if not curse, our vulnerability.
It is only when we can see our vulnerability and acknowledge it that we can open ourselves up to God for His aid. We have to drop the wall that we construct around ourselves so that we can let God in. If we remain defensive and if we wall ourselves up, that wall will keep everything and everyone out including God.
If, on the other hand, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable in the presence of God, He can turn that vulnerability into strength and give us the confidence that we need to live in this world without fear.
FAITH ACTION: Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Allow the Lord to provide for your need today.