…In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times 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. II Corinthians 12:7b-10
Paul wrote the above passage to the Corinthians. He didn’t like being weak. He prayed for healing and was told by God, “No.” We don’t like to hear “no” from God. But we need to have Paul’s attitude. Paul realized, that if God had healed him, Paul would get the glory and not God. Paul knew that even though people would give him glory, he couldn’t heal, preach, encourage and make friendships on his own as well as when God was the author of all Paul did. Paul was an educated, strong personality working for God. However, it was through Paul’s weakness that God worked.
This is a difficult lesson to learn for us who are strong-willed and know how to get things done. However, we need to realize that we need to let go of the reigns and let God work through our weaknesses for His glory. Reality is, even when we are at our strongest, our strongest is nothing compared to the power in the little pinky of the Almighty God. We need to accept our vulnerabilities and realize they are areas in our lives where God can shine the brightest.
Join with me in accepting our weaknesses and watching God work miracles through them.
I appreciate Jason Gray’s song, The Wound is Where the Light Get In. This song is exactly what Paul was talking about in Corinthians. I hope you enjoy listening to it.
Photo credit: Bible Study Tools. 2020. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/how-does-god-use-our-weakness-as-a-strength.html.
