But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV
The Achilles’ tendon is that tendon that connects the lower calf to the ankle. It can become injured in exercise or by wearing high heels. This term of Achilles’ tendon was first used in 1963. It comes from Greek mythology.
In Greek mythology, Achilles was dipped in the River Styx by his mother to make him invulnerable. She held him by his ankles and therefore the water did not cover his ankles, leaving his ankles vulnerable. The term Achilles’ heel is used to describe a weakness or vulnerable point in someone normally considered to have great strength. We all have areas where we are vulnerable or we have a weakness. It may be our children. It may be our jobs. It may be something that happened to us years past that upsets us when it’s brought up. But the bottom line is no matter how strong we may be, we all have a weak spot. Our weak spot is that place where someone can attack us and cause us problems or cause us to react in a way that we shouldn’t.
In Genesis 3:15, God is doling out curses on the serpent and Adam and Eve for violating his commandment. He tells the devil that he will crawl on his belly for the rest of his days and that there will be enmity between him and the woman. He said that man shall bruise his head which kind of reminds me of hitting a snake with a shovel, which I’ve seen plenty of people do. Then, he says that the snake will bruise the human’s heel. If a snake is on the ground it is most like to strike in the lower leg or the heel, right?
The devil, who was in serpent form in the garden, likes to attack our Achilles’ heel. This means that he likes to figure out the area in our life in which we are most vulnerable and this is where he chooses to attack. It could be your family. It could be money. It could be an addiction. He likes to find out where you are weakest and that’s where he launches his attack.
If you are not in a close relationship with the Lord, you are leaving yourself wide open for an attack. You are vulnerable in many areas. But when we walk with the Lord and maintain and close relationship with Him, He’s got our back. This means that wherever we are weak, He gives us strength. We don’t have to operate on our strength, we can operate on His strength. We know that He is always victorious over the devil. This means that we are pulling from His strength which is strong enough to overcome Satan.
I love what Paul says in verse 9. He says that God told him that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Where we are weakest is where God’s strength can be perfected. God’s strength made perfect means that there is nothing stronger. It means that we cannot be defeated.
If you are relying on your own strength, remember that we all have points in our lives where we are vulnerable. We all have points where we are weak. Some of us have addictive personalities. Those addictions can destroy us. But, if we give them over to God we can be victorious. God will give us strength to overcome them.
If you think you can operate on your own strength, you should know this is pride talking. Pride is something God hates and is a whole other issue in itself. Take a minute to assess where you are weakest. Think about where you are most vulnerable. Pray to God to strengthen you in these areas, so you can be strong. We are meant to be soldiers for Christ. We must continually pray for his protection. Each and every day we will face spiritual battles, but we should not fear because God provides all we need. He gives us armor to protect us and His word as our sword (Ephesians 6:10-18).
It is often said that we are either going through a battle, have just completed a battle, or are about to go into a battle. We live in a spiritual warzone. Be prepared to stand strong.
Have a great weekend!