Strength when Weak

“And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.” (2Corinthians 12:9)

These were the words of Paul. He had a malady of unknown nature because he never disclosed what it was. Many believe it was physical. He prayed for it to be removed three times but in this Scripture, he reveals what God told him. (2Corinthians 12:8) There are two important points that God makes. One is that His grace is sufficient. And the other is that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Paul also makes a bold statement that needs explanation. He wrote that he would rather glory in his weakness so that the power of Christ may overshadow him.

I don’t pretend to know all the intricacies of these statements. They are bold and mind boggling. But we will look at Scripture to get some understanding. God’s power of which we know practically nothing about is made perfect in weakness. We only see the results of God’s power, creation of the world, creation of the universe, of all that is natural, all that is beautiful, all that is wonderful and all that the Lord has created that we up to now know nothing about. To understand that is an example of electricity that God created that for centuries the world didn’t know about. God is so great; humans have not even scraped the surface of what God has created that we know nothing about.

It is amazing to think that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. When weakness exists, God’s power is able to be perfected. As long as our inutile strength is puffed up, we cannot see God’s perfect power. The Lord allows us to wallow in our futile efforts without Him until we recognize our weakness and inability to accomplish what He can. Then His power is perfected to do mightily in us, for us and through us. Paul wrote: “For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;"

(Eph 3:14-16). When we recognize our weakness, He empowers us with His power. “...being empowered with all power, according to the might of His glory, to all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness,” (Colossians 1:11). The author of Hebrews wrote about those brave believers in whom the Lord gave power in their weakness and did mightily. “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah; also David, and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the strangers.” (Hebrews 11:32-34)

So it is so right that the Lord told Paul that His grace was sufficient. Whatever we are attempting to accomplish, we cannot without God in the first place. We need not ever lie to ourselves that it’s our intelligence, our prowess, our ability, our skill or any other thing needed for success in our endeavors.  Without God we wouldn’t even exist. And any ability and skill that we may have, come from His grace in our lives. His grace is God’s unmerited, undeserved favor. If we’re smart, God’s favor gave us that. If we’re strong, God’s favor gave us that.  God’s favor which is undeserved is sufficient for any endeavor we have to undertake. For Paul it was preaching the Gospel in hostile environments. He loved doing it because God gave him that desire. And he was able to do it because God enabled him to do it. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) And we can apply that to our situation.

Paul understood what God meant when God told him that His grace was sufficient, and that God’s power would be displayed in his weakness. “Therefore I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am powerful.” (2Corinthians 12:10) We whine and complain that we’d be able to accomplish so much more if things were in better conditions. But the truth is that in the worse conditions we can accomplish powerfully what God wants when we allow the Lord to work in us, for us and through us.

Ultimately, the anthem in Paul’s Scripture is to lay down our strengths and our ideas allowing God to dictate to us what and how to use what He’s given us. It will surprise us when God chooses what seems foolish to us to gain victoriously and gloriously. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and God has chosen the base things of the world, and things which are despised, and things which are not, in order to bring to nothing things that are; so that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1Corinthians 1:27-29) We should not shrink from any God given task because of our inability. Like Paul we can say, “...when I am weak, then I am powerful,” knowing it’s God’s power working in us.