Our Weaknesses and God's Strengths Revealed
When I Am Weak,Then I Am Strong
"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak,then I am strong.(2Corinthians 12:9-10)
I believe God will show us our weaknesses so as to reveal His strengths in us and through us and in turn He is assuring us that His Grace is sufficient.Man with his logic and worldly wisdom can never grasp or identify with this type of wisdom.It just doesn't make sense in the world we live in where personal power and pride is stressed so.
"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."(Philippians 4:11-13)
These are some very bold statements that Paul makes and they don't come from weakness or feeling sorry for himself.They come from his faith in God's strengths and realizing his own weaknesses.We can see the strengths of God manifested through Paul with these statements.I believe Paul had grown to his acceptance of these statements.We can see the progression."I have learned"."I know how"."I can do".These statements don't come from pride in Paul,but from his weaknesses being revealed and God's strengths working in and through him.
We don't just work up these kind of statements from within ourselves and mean them.They go against everything this human nature stands for.I believe we progress just like Paul did.So shouldn't we rejoice when God is revealing our weaknesses to us because He is also revealing His strengths?Most of the time this is very hard for us to accept,I know,because revealing my pride to me is also revealing a weakness that I don't want to accept.Revealing a weakness in myself hurts my pride to the core.But I do believe this is what it takes for us to rely on God's strength and to realize that His Grace is sufficient in all our circumstances.
"My grace is sufficient"
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."