But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”  Therefore, I will boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10 HCSB

When you become a Christian you began to see the world a lot differently. We live in a world of opposites. The flesh opposes the Spirit. So the things that we want to do, we shouldn’t do and the things that we don’t want to do, we should do. But when we walk in the Spirit it straightens all that out, for the most part. See, we still face temptations. We still find ourselves in times of weakness.

But we must recognize and realize the vast amount of power that is provided to us when we are able to accept and embrace our weakness. Yes, I said embrace our weakness. You see when we realize our weakness, this is when we can humble ourselves and submit to Christ. This is when we can go to Him and ask Him to strengthen us. This is when we realize that what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger. In the Bible, I don’t believe any human being suffered more for the gospel than Paul, with the exception of Jesus. Paul was no stranger to torment and suffering. He was beaten, stoned, and left for dead. He was imprisoned and shipwrecked but through it all He focused on the gospel. His only concern was that the gospel be preached and that his suffering bring glory to God (Philippians 1:12-30). Our scripture passage today is from Paul. He certainly understood how his weakness perfected God’s power. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Paul wrote of this extraordinary power that we mere mortals have through Christ. He wrote, we are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned, we are struck down but not destroyed. He then went on to write, we always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

Through our suffering, we can believe that we are strong enough to deal with it and make the fatal mistake of leaving God out of the equation and taking on the world on our own or we can admit that we need His strength and His power. When we realize our own weakness, then we can unleash this awesome power and strength that can only be found in Christ. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I have lightyears to go to reach the kind of faith and strength that Paul possesses, but I strive for it every day. I will strive for it until the Lord calls me home. But, through my trials and tribulations I have learned that the greatest strength I will ever have will come from Him. I have learned to trust in His tremendous power. I have learned that the battle belongs to Him. I have learned to suit up and stand firm and watch Him work. And most importantly, I have learned that when I am at my weakest and I think that I just can’t go anymore, He can still give me strength.

When I am weary, He gives me rest (Matthew 11:28). But, when He calls me to press on, He strengthens me. Isaiah 40:29 tells us that He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. When I am weak, then I am strong in Him. I know where my help comes from, my help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121:2). So, I will not be shaken in times of trouble (Psalm 62:1-2), I will not faint, I will trust in the Lord. I will humble myself and pray to Him and admit my weakness and gladly accept His awesome strength. I will call on Him to fight this battle and I will stand strong. You can do the same if you only trust in Him.

Have a great day!