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. (2 Cor: 12:9)
Strong men and women, as wider society sees them, don’t exist in authentic Christian communities. There are only people who know they are weak, know they are ‘needy’ and that it is in God’s strength alone that they are empowered to face battles of everyday life and living for Jesus. They own no real capacity in themselves. It’s all given by the Lord.
Didn’t Paul say the same in this passage from Corinthians? This is the religious fanatic “breathing threats and murder” (Acts 9:1) who approved the persecution of Christians before Jesus appeared to him, sending a searing white light and showing him both his weakness and dependency on God. He was temporarily blinded to make the point! Paul understood that grace is what he needed and that God wanted him pliable for the Holy Spirit to work through him and reach others.
Paul understood the Lord loved him and he, in turn, loved his saviour. For that reason, he surrendered to this humbling arrangement. He understood the beautiful irony in that by lessening himself, he emanated the resurrection power of the living Christ and became more alive: “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness,” he declared in 2 Cor 11: 30.
Didn’t Samson who killed hundreds also know his strength came from God alone? And what about King David, often lauded for his military prowess. But when the giant Goliath approached this shepherd boy knew where true strength came from, and he needed it!
‘David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied,” it says in 1 Samuel 17:45.
The Lord Jesus weakened himself for our sakes. He was stripped of clothes, tortured and killed: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” (Isaiah 53:3)
So if you feel weak and needy today, or worry that is how others perceive you – don’t worry. You’re in good company! The Lord looks to open hearts willing to serve him. You just have to lean into the Holy Spirit and obey his leading in ministering his love to others. Live in His power and strength alone.
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