HOPE for the Christian Widow: His Power is Perfected in Weakness

Widowhood: Feeling Our Weakest

Being a widow often brings us to the weakest and most broken place we’ve ever been.

Our bodies ache, our emotions unravel, and our spirits feel crushed. We’re often unreliable and forgetful, as our capacity is so low and we are lost in the brain fog of grief. We struggle in too many areas to keep track of.

We both feel weak and we see ourselves as weak. And, that weakness can feel shameful when we believe that weak = bad.

We want to be “strong,” to show up, to carry all the weight and hold it together. But the truth is—this journey makes us painfully aware of all the places we can’t.

That’s the hard reality of widowhood: it exposes our limits in every way, when we're more limited than ever.

But what if our weakness and even failure were broken places that His light could shine through, for His glory?

Christ’s Power Is Made Perfect in Our Weakness

Widowhood can be the time when the words of Paul become most true for us:

“...I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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.”

—2 Corinthians 12:8–10

Becoming a widow, in all its raw grief, and losing our human strength and independence, is not the end of our story or of His story! Widowhood is not an end in itself, but a means to the end that is His being glorified, in and through you.

This can be the very place God shows His strength through you most powerfully. What looks like your lowest season is actually a stage for His kingdom to come here on this broken earth.

Paul didn’t deny his weakness—he boasted in it. Not because he enjoyed suffering, but because he knew weakness opened the door for Christ’s power to rest on him.

Could it be that our widowhood weakness—our inability, our tears, our shaky step forward—is the very invitation for His Spirit to work powerfully in us?

Walking in His Strength as a Widow (3 Steps for You 🤲)

So how do we tap into a power beyond our own when our strength is gone?

1. Be aware of your weaknesses & lies you may believe

The shift can't happen without self-reflection and awareness. Acknowledge where you are weak, incapable, or believing lies like:

• “I’m failing.”

• “I’ll never be whole again.”

• "Life will never be good again."

• “God can’t use me anymore.”

Recognizing these things (instead of denying, or living in them unaware) is the first step toward making a shift and letting them be an open door for Christ to step in. Own it- while fully embraced by His grace!

2. Lean into the power of God

This means:

• Truth-telling, transparency, and accountability: Turn to Him, and safe people, with your baggage in honesty — Don’t hide. Share where you are struggling, what lies you are believing, and what feels impossible. Confession and prayer brings healing (James 5:16).

• Choosing a Kingdom mindset: Accept that your natural way of seeing weakness and struggle isn’t how God sees them. Although it may seem and feel upside-down (especially in pain), commit to new, true thoughts and beliefs.

  
  

  -His thoughts and ways aren't ours... they are higher (Is. 55:8-9)

  -Paul chose to boast/delight in hardship because it reveals God’s power (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

• Expect and receive His strength daily: It's not about "trying harder." Here are some promises for you, widow sister, as you expect Him to meet unique sufferings with unique graces:

  
  

  -Jesus said "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Mt. 5:4)

  -Again, Paul said "I will boast... about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me" (2 Cor. 12:9)

  -"God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Tim.1:7)

3. Know His presence & companionship

Though we wouldn't have chosen it, our suffering can display Jesus, who Himself suffered—and who still suffers with you. He doesn't take you where He hasn't already gone, or where He won't go.

• "We [also share in] the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in [us] (2 Cor. 4:10)

• He is "...the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction..." (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

• You share in His sufferings, which means you are also sharing in His powerful, resurrection HOPE (Phil. 3:10)

Beloved Sister: HOPE at Your Weakest

I know that in great pain we often want to reject this journey altogether. It feels impossible to see widowhood as anything but crushing.

But take heart:

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” —Isaiah 42:3

Though you may feel like a faintly burning wick, know this—all the darkness in the world cannot snuff out your flame that burns for Him. He will see to it that your light remains.

When you are weak, He is strong. And He faithfully has you.

With you,

Rachel

🎉PS- The HOPE Stronghold is coming!!❤️‍🔥

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