You have weaknesses. I'm sure this statement doesn't shock you. You know about them; most likely, you've known about them for some time.

But the real question is this: What are you doing with your weaknesses? You can hide and deny them. Most of the time, this is what we try to do because we're afraid of what might happen to our ministries if people discover we're not strong in every area.

There is a better option, though. Instead of hiding our weaknesses, we can recognize and share them. Even better, we can learn to glory in our weaknesses. For God to use you greatly, you'll walk with some kind of limp the rest of your life.

I have struggled with a handicap all my life. I was born with a disorder in my brain chemistry that makes public speaking excruciatingly painful to me. It is a genetic problem that is resistant to any medication. If doctors could have cured it, they would have years ago. I've been to the top neurologists in the nation.

In a nutshell, my brain overreacts to adrenaline. Neurologists at the University of California, Irvine, would tell you I'm allergic to adrenaline. Throughout my childhood, anytime adrenaline would hit my system, I would faint. In high school, I took medication for epilepsy (not because I'm an epileptic but to alleviate my symptoms). To this day, I still get severe reactions to adrenaline.

First, I get very dizzy. My vision blurs, and then I black out. Sometimes I get headaches—severe headaches. At other times, I experience severe hot flashes. Sometimes I can't even see the audience. These symptoms usually last until about 15-20 minutes into the message, when I've expended enough adrenaline that my body goes back to normal. The first part of any message is excruciatingly painful to me.

My most common reaction to this experience is an absolute sense of irrational panic. It's as scary as hanging off a skyscraper and holding on with just a single finger. It's absolutely terrifying!

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:3 (GW), "When I came to you, I was weak. I was afraid and very nervous." I understand what Paul is saying—I experience it every time I preach.

This condition has been a thorn in my flesh for my entire ministry. Most preachers and other public speakers will tell you that adrenaline is their best friend. Preachers who don't have adrenaline are boring! You won't make it in preaching without adrenaline. I've leaned on adrenaline to preach multiple services every week for decades. Instead of helping me, adrenaline makes me absolutely miserable. What every preacher needs for an effective sermon is like poison to my body.

Many people ask me whether I get prideful when preaching to so many people each week. Honestly, pride is the last thing on my mind when I preach. I'm usually thinking, "God, just get me through this one more time." If I wasn't convinced that God had called me and gifted me to preach, I would have found a whole lot easier way to make a living a long time ago.

I keep doing it in spite of the pain because I know God wants me to do it, and He's called me to do it. I've been in ministry for almost 50 years, and I've done everything possible to deal with my condition: I've prayed about this every day of my life, I've fasted for long periods of time, I've seen the best doctors and counselors, and I've read the best books.

God has not chosen—although I will keep praying to that end—to take this weakness away.

Prayer does dramatically limit the symptoms of my disorder. God used this issue to help Saddleback become a praying church. I wouldn't think of preaching without having my prayer team praying for me during the message. They pray for me during each service.

What's the lesson?

God uses weak people! God will use you, too. He won't use you in spite of your weakness—He'll use you because of it.

Prepare to be used by God by being honest about your weaknesses today.

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church, one of America's largest and most influential churches. He is the author of the New York Times' bestseller The Purpose Driven Life. His book, The Purpose Driven Church, was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick started The PEACE Plan to show the local church how God works through ordinary people to address the five global giants of spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease and illiteracy. You can listen to Daily Hope, Pastor Rick's daily 25-minute audio teaching, or sign up for his free daily devotionals at PastorRick.com. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global online community created to encourage pastors.

For the original article, visit pastors.com.

Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Dr. Mark Rutland's

National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)

The NICL is one of the top leadership training programs in the U.S. taught by Dr. Mark Rutland. If you're the type of leader that likes to have total control over every aspect of your ministry and your future success, the NICL is right for you!

FREE NICL MINI-COURSE - Enroll for 3-hours of training from Dr. Rutland's full leadership course. Experience the NICL and decide if this training is right for you and your team.

The NICL Online is an option for any leader with time or schedule constraints. It's also for leaders who want to expedite their training to receive advanced standing for Master Level credit hours. Work through Dr. Rutland's full training from the comfort of your home or ministry at your pace. Learn more about NICL Online. Learn more about NICL Online.