The phrase “let the weak say I am strong” comes from Joel 3:10, which says: “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am a warrior.'” This verse comes within a prophecy of God’s judgment against the nations who have mistreated His people. In the preceding verses, God summons the nations to the “valley of Jehoshaphat” for judgment. Then in verse 9, God tells His people to prepare for war against the hostile nations.
In verse 10, God instructs even the “weak” among His people to take up arms and join the battle. Though they may consider themselves weak or ill-equipped for warfare, God commands them to say “I am a warrior.” Within this prophecy, “the weak” likely refers to those among God’s people who were elderly, frail, poor, or otherwise disadvantaged. Yet God empowers and emboldens even the weak to take a stand and fight courageously alongside the rest of His people.
Some key truths we can gain from this verse:
- God cares about justice for the weak and oppressed. He hears their cries and will come to their defense.
- God can empower those who are weak in themselves. By His strength, they can do valiantly.
- Trusting God’s power working in us allows us to move past our insecurities and self-doubt.
- Serving God’s purposes often requires courage and a willingness to step out of our comfort zones.
- Obedience to God is more important than waiting until we feel fully qualified or prepared.
So in summary, “let the weak say I am strong” expresses God’s desire to embolden and equip even the most disadvantaged of His people to trust in His power, move past their weaknesses and insecurities, and courageously join His cause. He cares deeply for the weak and wants to display His strength through those who humble themselves and rely wholly on Him, rather than simply human ability. This verse applies to believers in any age who may feel inadequate or ill-equipped. When we trust in God’s power rather than our own, we can confidently rise to the challenges God places before us.
1. God cares about justice for the weak and oppressed
In Joel 3, God declares that He will gather the nations into the “valley of Jehoshaphat” (likely symbolizing His divine judgment) because of how they treated His people. Joel 3:2-3 says, “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.”
The prophecy goes on to detail some of the crimes these nations committed against God’s people, such as capturing and selling them as slaves (v.6). God had observed their affliction and cries for help. So in calling even the weak and disadvantaged among His people to prepare for war, God displays His commitment to bring justice where there has been oppression, and to defend the cause of the helpless. God was ready to empower those who had been made to feel powerless by their oppressors.
This demonstrates God’s compassion for the disadvantaged and His determination to care for those the world ignores. The weak can take comfort in the truth that God hears them and will respond to injustice, either in the present age or on the final day of judgment. Believers should also follow God’s example by seeking justice for the oppressed and defenseless in society – the unborn, widows, orphans, trafficked persons, and anyone else whose voice goes unheard.
2. God can empower those who are weak in themselves
When God instructed even the weak to say “I am a warrior,” He made no qualifications as to their ability, experience, or fitness for battle. God was not mocked by a weak person simply declaring themselves strong in their own ability. Rather, God was empowering them by His own unmatched strength. As 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Those with physical limitations or disadvantages understood that victory would not come through their natural strength or skill, but through supernatural enablement from God. His call to the weak was a reminder that with God, human weakness is no barrier. Zechariah 4:6 declares, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.” By His Spirit, God can enable any willing person to accomplish His purposes and fight His battles.
This truth liberates believers from paralysis and inaction due to a sense of inadequacy. When God says to take up His cause, we cannot remain on the sidelines because we deem ourselves unqualified or incapable. God specializes in using weak vessels so that His glory shines all the brighter (2 Corinthians 4:7). The weak can have confidence that God will empower those who trust in Him more than their own strength.
3. Trusting God’s power allows us to move past insecurities
God did not ignore the real challenges the weak faced in answering His call to war. He acknowledged their weakness by calling them to now identify as warriors. This took courage for the weak, as they were likely accustomed to seeing themselves as inadequate and battlefield-unworthy.
Yet trusting that God can truly strengthen and equip the weak allowed them to move past those insecurities. Rather than focus on their weaknesses, they embraced the new identity God had given them as His warriors. This took faith to act upon God’s declaration over the voices of self-doubt.
Similarly, God may call believers today out of their comfort zones to attempt things that seem beyond their abilities. When God calls, we should not stay stunted by low self-confidence. Rather, we can have faith in God’s empowering grace to say “I am strong” – not meaning strong in ourselves, but strong in the power He supplies. We may need to silence self-doubt and other’s doubt with declarations of who God says we are.
4. God’s purposes often require courage
Consider the courage it took for the weak to declare themselves warriors on God’s behalf. They could have shrunk back from the summons to war, citing their limitations. Or they could have taken up the call but gone to battle paralyzed by their insecurities.
Instead, they did the courageous thing of taking God at His word, rising above their fears and embracing God’s call to advance His kingdom. Though they felt weak, they did not allow feelings to prevent their obedience. Their courage was an expression of faith in the God who calls the weak and makes them strong.
Similarly, God’s purposes will often require His people to do courageous things. We may feel unprepared, but we cannot use that as an excuse. Serving God will require courage to step out of comfort zones in order to walk in faithful obedience. The weak can have boldness knowing that God will strengthening them for every task He assigns.
5. Obedience is more important than waiting for qualification
Generations of women were denied leadership in the church because they were deemed unqualified according to the standards of church culture. Yet God gifted and called many women to boldly lead in advancing the Kingdom, despite opposition. Women could have refused God’s call and waited for culture’s permission, or tried to qualify themselves by culture’s standards. But that may have meant disobedience to what God wanted to do through them.
Likewise, God may call people to serve Him today who, by earthly standards, seem underqualified. But God is not limited by human perceptions. When God calls, we should not stall obedience until we feel perfectly prepared. Rather we should step out in faith, trusting that God equips the called. If God could empower a band of weak and disadvantaged believers to courageously battle mighty nations, He can use anyone surrendered to Him.
6. God can use the things humans discard
God instructed His people to take up the tools of their everyday trades – plowshares and pruning hooks – and fashion them into weapons of war (swords and spears). Rather than provide them shiny new weapons, God wanted them to use and repurpose the common tools they already possessed.
This illustrates how God can redeem the ordinary things others may disregard as useless. The weak did not need sophisticated weaponry, because God would empower the most basic tools for victory. Similarly, believers should not look down upon whatever common talents or personality traits they have. God can use any surrendered vessel, no matter how ordinary it may seem. He empowers willingness and obedience, not skill or station.
7. God is the source of true strength
There is an important distinction in this verse. The weak do not declare “I am strong” present tense, as though they now possess great natural strength. Rather, they call themselves a “warrior” – one whose strength comes from being united to God as the divine warrior leading into battle (see Exodus 15:3).
This distinction is vital. The weak became strong not through their own power, but by relying on God’s power. Similarly, believers should never boast in their own strength, but only in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31). Human weakness presents no barrier when God supplies the strength. Relying on Him is the pathway to victorious living, not self-dependence.
8. God deserves the glory for what He accomplishes through people
Imagine the testimony the weak could give after God led them to triumph over strong nations. They could not take one shred of credit for a victory that so clearly displayed God’s power through their weakness. This event would forever remind them that victory belongs to the Lord (Proverbs 21:31).
In the same way, when believers accomplish things far beyond their natural abilities, God receives all the glory. No one can boast before Him. The weak have no grounds for pride, knowing they are nothing apart from Christ’s strength within (John 15:5). May this truth keep believers humble and cause them to glorify God for every good thing He accomplishes through them.
9. God’s power can change how others perceive us
When God first called the weak to war, the invitation seemed laughable. “How can the feeble fight mighty nations?” some likely wondered. But after God led them to victory, no one could deny God’s power on display through their weakness.
Those once mocked as helpless might now be feared or revered for what God did through them. Similarly, God can vindicate His followers when they face opposition while walking in obedience to Him. People may try to demean or limit believers according to earthly perceptions. But living in God’s strength can defy human labels and change how people see a life yielded to God.
10. The weak have a special testimony to God’s glory
When God leads the naturally strong to victory, He shows His power. But when He conquers through the weak, it is a double testimony to His unmatched strength. This is why God sometimes intentionally chooses weak vessels through which to display His glory. Their human limitations make it obvious that only God could be behind such victory.
The weak should not see themselves as lesser vessels, but as prized opportunities for God’s power to shine. Their insufficiencies become platforms for testimony when God works through them. Those who are weak by earthly standards can be greatly used by God when they trust wholly in Him.