2 Corinthians 12.9-10 9 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. 10 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.
I just got back from “working out” at our local YMCA. My
doctor took me off of a blood pressure medicine that I have been taking since
1974. He’s always told me that the best way to control blood pressure is with
regular vigorous exercise. So, I do it and it works. The other reason I’ve been
“working out” is to get rid of the middle-age spare tire (if you know what I mean) and to “get in shape”. So far that is working with mixed results, but
my pants do fit better (if you know what I mean).
Americans, at least at my YMCA, seem to be interested in
making themselves look better and take better care of themselves. They also
seem to want to be stronger, healthier, and to live longer. They seem to want
to take charge of, and be happy with, their strengths and to overcome their
weaknesses. You can sure tell the difference between the committed and the
wannabes.
The Apostle Paul discovered in his day that his truest strength
was found in utter weakness. Well, what’s that
all about? Paul said he looked at himself as he really was: absolutely powerless to do anything about
himself, his life, or his eternal destiny. Paul readily admitted there was
nothing good in and of himself; and so he found his truest strength came when
he admitted what he knew: he knew any strength he had to do anything at all,
came from God, not by virtue of any of his own achievements.
Paul understood the magnitude of God’s grace and presence
in his life and he was horrified to trust in anything else than those two
things. And he boasted about his weaknesses in order that Christ’s strength
would rest upon him. And that’s why he delighted in his weaknesses because they
proved to him how great his need was for the Savior. He said, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
True strength is revealed in utter weakness. That’s the power of a Savior.
I am tragically kidding
myself if I find any strength in me. (I do that all the time.) But when I find strength in me I need to
remember that I am simply saying to myself: in
this area of life, I don’t need God. What a foolish, naïve thought, and
yet, I embrace it all the time. Sigh.
Lord, today there is something calling to me from beyond
myself. Today, I am called to true strength and that is found only in
confessing, and believing in, my utter weakness. I pray for courage to embrace that
confession and belief. I pray for strength to be who I really am: a pathetic,
powerless wretch that You have reached out to in love, to find to the ends of
my being, Your power and presence – not one shred of my own. Save me Lord!
amen.
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