We live in a culture obsessed with strength. We’re told to project confidence, hide our struggles, and never let anyone see us sweat. Weakness is treated like a character flaw to be eliminated rather than a reality to be acknowledged.
But the apostle Paul turned this thinking completely upside down. After pleading with God three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh,” God’s response wasn’t what Paul expected:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul’s reaction?
He decided to boast gladly about his weaknesses so that Christ’s power could rest on him.
This is radically countercultural. God doesn’t just tolerate your weakness. He specializes in it. He purposefully uses weak people to accomplish His purposes, so there’s no doubt that the power comes from Him, not from human ability.
Your weakness isn’t disqualifying you from God’s plans. It’s actually positioning you to experience His strength in ways the self-sufficient never will. When you reach the end of yourself, you discover that God’s power has been there all along, just waiting for you to stop relying on your own.
Bible Verses About God’s Strength In Weakness
1. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – My Grace Is Sufficient for You
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.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Psalm 73:26 – God Is the Strength of My Heart
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
New International Version (NIV)
3. Isaiah 40:29-31 – He Gives Strength to the Weary
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
New International Version (NIV)
4. 2 Corinthians 4:7 – Treasure in Jars of Clay
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
English Standard Version (ESV)
5. Philippians 4:13 – I Can Do All Things Through Christ
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
New King James Version (NKJV)
6. Psalm 18:32-33 – God Arms Me With Strength
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.
New International Version (NIV)
7. Isaiah 41:10 – I Will Strengthen You and Help You
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
New International Version (NIV)
8. Ephesians 3:16 – Strengthened With Power Through His Spirit
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.
New International Version (NIV)
9. 2 Corinthians 13:4 – We Are Weak in Him, Yet Live by God’s Power
For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.
English Standard Version (ESV)
10. Judges 6:12 – The Lord Is With You, Mighty Warrior
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
New International Version (NIV)
11. Psalm 28:7 – The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
New International Version (NIV)
12. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 – God Chose the Weak Things
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
English Standard Version (ESV)
13. Nehemiah 8:10 – The Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength
Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
New International Version (NIV)
14. Psalm 46:1 – God Is Our Refuge and Strength
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
New International Version (NIV)
15. Romans 8:26 – The Spirit Helps Us in Our Weakness
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
English Standard Version (ESV)
16. 2 Samuel 22:33 – God Is My Strong Fortress
God is my strong fortress, and he makes my way perfect.
New Living Translation (NLT)
17. Isaiah 40:28-29 – He Gives Power to the Weak
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
New International Version (NIV)
18. Hebrews 11:34 – Weakness Turned to Strength
They quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, and put foreign armies to flight.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
19. Psalm 84:5 – Blessed Are Those Whose Strength Is in You
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
New International Version (NIV)
20. Habakkuk 3:19 – The Sovereign Lord Is My Strength
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.
New International Version (NIV)
21. Zechariah 4:6 – Not by Might, Nor by Power
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
New International Version (NIV)
22. Colossians 1:11 – Strengthened With All Power
Being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.
English Standard Version (ESV)
23. Psalm 27:1 – The Lord Is the Stronghold of My Life
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
New International Version (NIV)
24. 2 Timothy 1:7 – God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Fear
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
New King James Version (NKJV)
25. Isaiah 12:2 – The Lord Is My Strength and My Defense
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
New International Version (NIV)
26. Psalm 105:4 – Look to the Lord and His Strength
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
New International Version (NIV)
27. Ephesians 6:10 – Be Strong in the Lord
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
New International Version (NIV)
28. 1 Chronicles 16:11 – Seek the Lord and His Strength
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
English Standard Version (ESV)
29. Psalm 118:14 – The Lord Is My Strength and My Song
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
New Living Translation (NLT)
30. 2 Corinthians 12:10 – When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong
That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
New Living Translation (NLT)
31. Psalm 138:3 – You Made Me Bold and Strong
On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.
English Standard Version (ESV)
32. Joel 3:10 – Let the Weak Say, “I Am Strong”
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, “I am strong.”
New International Version (NIV)
33. Deuteronomy 33:25 – Your Strength Will Equal Your Days
May the bolts of your gates be iron and bronze, and may your strength equal your days.
New International Version (NIV)
34. 1 Samuel 2:9 – It Is Not by Strength That One Prevails
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails.
New International Version (NIV)
35. Psalm 68:35 – The God of Israel Gives Power and Strength
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!
New International Version (NIV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About God’s Strength In Weakness
God’s economy works completely opposite to ours.
We think we need to get stronger, more capable, more self-sufficient. God says our weakness is exactly where He wants to meet us.
The entire biblical narrative is filled with unlikely heroes. Moses had a speech impediment. Gideon was hiding in a winepress. David was a shepherd boy. Esther was an orphan. Peter was impulsive and denied Christ. Paul had a mysterious thorn in his flesh.
None of them succeeded because they were strong enough. They succeeded because God’s strength showed up in their weakness.
This isn’t about celebrating weakness for its own sake or refusing to grow and develop. It’s about recognizing that even your best strength is insufficient without God’s power working through you.
The most dangerous place you can be is thinking you’re strong enough on your own. The safest place you can be is acknowledging your weakness and depending entirely on God’s strength. That’s when His power shows up most clearly.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, I’m tired of pretending I’m stronger than I am.
I’ve been trying to handle everything in my own strength, and I’m exhausted. I’ve been hiding my weaknesses, thinking they disqualify me from being used by You.
But Your Word says Your power is made perfect in weakness. It says You chose the weak things to shame the strong. It says when I’m weak, then I’m strong because Your strength is what matters.
So I’m done trying to be strong enough on my own. I’m acknowledging that I need Your strength in every area of my life. Where I’m weak, show up with Your power. Where I’m inadequate, be my sufficiency. Where I’m falling short, carry me.
Help me to boast gladly in my weaknesses so that Your power can rest on me. Teach me what it means to rely entirely on Your strength rather than my own. Let my weakness become the very place where Your glory shines brightest.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.