Strength in weakness: a mystery of hope

Abstract

A vocation to serving in severely medically under-resourced settings invariably means facing of our own weakness in realizing that vocation. Christian teaching proclaims that God’s strength in made perfect in weakness, which is both a comfort and a mystery to many in facing their weaknesses. Without diminishing the mystery, experience demonstrates several ways in which this promise plays out in reality, providing an imaginative stimulus for how it may also be true in ways where it is less understood. Believing such teaching forms part of a necessary theological framework for Christians serving in areas of immense suffering as well as encouraging transparency and vulnerability in regards to their own weaknesses.

Keywords

• weakness
• resilience
• moral injury