“Strength Lies in Weakness”

[Hubi]

Dear brothers and sisters,

 

just imagine this little boy…

Only 10 years old.
A life that should have been full of carefree moments… full of laughter, playing, dreaming…

But one single moment changes everything.

A devastating accident…
And suddenly nothing is the same anymore.
He loses his left arm.

Can you imagine how he must have felt?
Perhaps helpless… perhaps different… perhaps even worthless…

And then this boy makes a decision that many would not understand:
He wants to learn judo.

Of all things, judo.

A sport where you need both arms… right?

He begins his training with an old, experienced master.
And this master… teaches him only one single move.

Weeks go by… months go by…
And the boy learns… only this one move.

At some point he can’t take it anymore and asks:
“Sensei… shouldn’t I be learning more?”

And the answer is astonishing:
“This is all you need.”

Maybe someone else would have given up…
Maybe someone else would have thought: This is not enough… I am not enough…

But this boy… trusts.

He trusts his teacher.
And he keeps training.

Then the day of the tournament arrives.

The first match? He wins.
The second? Also.

The third becomes difficult…
But at the moment his opponent becomes impatient… he skillfully uses that one move — and wins.

And suddenly he stands in the final.

His opponent is bigger… stronger… more experienced…
For a moment, the boy seems overwhelmed.

The fight is even interrupted.

Maybe everyone thought: Now it’s over…

But the master says:
“Let him continue.”

And then it happens…

One single moment of carelessness…
One single mistake…

And the boy uses exactly what he has learned.

That one move.

And he wins.

He becomes the champion.

---

On the way home, he asks the question that we might also ask:

“How was that possible… with only one move?”

And the master’s answer is deeply moving:

“First… you have mastered one of the most difficult throws in judo.
And second… the only known defense against it is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

And that… he did not have.

---

Dear brothers and sisters…

Isn’t that touching?

His greatest weakness…
became his greatest strength.

---

And now think about us.

How often do we look at our weaknesses…
and feel small?

Maybe we think:
“I am not good enough…”
“I can’t do as much as others…”
“Jehova surely cannot use me like this…”

But listen to what the Bible says.
In 2 Corinthians 12:10 we read:

“For when I am weak, then I am powerful.”

What a thought…

Not despite our weakness…
but through our weakness Jehova can make us strong.

Maybe exactly what you feel is your greatest limitation…
is what Jehova will one day use in a way you cannot yet imagine.

Maybe he is shaping your heart right now…
your compassion…
your humility…

Things that are infinitely valuable in his eyes.

---

Therefore…

Never think that you are worth less.

Never think that your weaknesses make you unusable.

Jehova sees you differently.

He sees your heart.
He sees your struggle.
He sees your tears.

And maybe…
he already sees in your greatest weakness your greatest strength.

---

So let us trust.

Like that little boy.

Not in our own strength…
but in Jehova.

Because when we are weak…

then… we are truly strong.