Today’s Verse
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'”
2 Corinthians 12:9
The Gift of Empty Hands
We spend so much energy trying to be strong enough, capable enough, resilient enough. We push through exhaustion, force ourselves forward, and measure our worth by how much we can carry on our own. And then we wonder why we’re so tired.
Here’s the truth we keep forgetting: God never asked us to be strong enough. He asked us to be willing enough, willing to admit when we’ve reached our limit, willing to open our empty hands, willing to let Him carry what we cannot.
Your weakness isn’t a flaw in the system. It’s the design. It’s the space where God’s strength shows up most clearly, the crack where His light gets in. When you finally stop trying to muscle your way through and simply lean, you discover something remarkable: He was holding you up all along.
Today, if you’re running on empty, don’t see it as failure. See it as an invitation. God isn’t waiting for you to get stronger, He’s waiting for you to stop pretending you have to be. Your weakness doesn’t disqualify you; it positions you. Because when you have nothing left to give, you finally have room to receive everything He’s been offering.
His strength. His grace. His more-than-enough.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, when I doubt my own strength, let me lean entirely on Yours.
Lord, there are days when I feel completely depleted, when I question if I have what it takes, when my own resources feel empty and I don’t know how to keep going.
Teach me that my weakness is not something to be ashamed of but an invitation to depend on You more fully, to stop relying on my own power and start drawing from Yours.
I confess I often wait until I’ve exhausted every option before I turn to You, trying to be strong enough on my own when You’ve been offering Your strength all along.
Help me recognize the moments when I’m striving in my own effort instead of resting in Your provision, when I’m white-knuckling my way through instead of surrendering to Your grace.
Remind me that Your strength is made perfect in my weakness, that You don’t need me to have it all together, that leaning on You is not a sign of failure but of faith.
Give me the humility to admit when I’m running on empty, the wisdom to stop and rest in Your presence, the courage to let go of my need to prove myself.
Let me find my confidence not in what I can do but in what You can do through me, knowing that when I am weak, You are strong, and Your strength is more than enough.
In Jesus’
Amen.