The Power of Weakness

The Power of Weakness: Embracing the True Source of Strength is the complete title of this book by Dan Schaeffer.   This title may be intriguing for you, as it was for me.  As Christians we all know that our true source of strength is in God.  We at least know it intellectually (head knowledge) if not spiritually (heart knowledge).  But, to see an entire book on just that is something we do not see frequently.  I did no research here, just my recollection of the titles I have seen at the Christian book store, and online shopping sites.  That is because it is not something we think about daily.  We know it's there, we know we have it and we claim it.  But, we don't always call on God to show His glory through our weakness.  Mr. Schaeffer points out that we are a "can do" (my words) sort of people.  We strive for success and even as Christians want to do it ourselves.  He points out that we deny one of the most important things about daily life in Christ;God wants to reveal His glory through our weakness but we just don't let that happen.  To call on a much used phrase, we fail to "let go and let God" leaving ourselves in a continual struggle.  The author points out many excellent examples from scripture of those who knew they were weak and stepped aside to let God win the battle for them or have the glory in difficult situations.  This book has many scripture references which remind us of how much God wants to work through our weakness.  It is somewhat lengthy in the telling of many examples from the Bible.  I found myself skimming the last several chapters because I could see that there was more of the same, which were stories I was familiar with.  It gives much evidence from Scripture of the point he is making.  He makes good use of many quotes and stories from well known Bible scholars on this subject, as well.  The end of the book has a discussion guide with questions on each chapter, also including an activity and a challenge at the end of each chapter's questions.  This would be an excellent resource for small groups, Sunday morning classes and Bible study groups.  The questions/discussion guides are detailed and thought provoking.  I almost felt like it would be best used by reading through it first without deep thought on the points made, then going back to dissect it while using the questions and the activity and challenge portions.  To read this you must be engaged and interested in the subject matter, else you may lay it down halfway through because you think you already know what he is telling.  It is worth staying with it and using the discussion guides for each chapter.  To quote from the author's website "The Power of Weakness invites you to trust God with your abilities and inabilities and find relief from the wearying pursuit of success."  I give the power of weakness three stars.

This book is not yet released.  I received a complimentary E-Reader review copy of this book from the publisher, Discovery House, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  These words are my opinion.