Day 18 – “Refreshed by Weakness”
June 14, 2012Refreshed by Weakness
But the Lord 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 weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 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.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Hard days are relative! We all have days of difficulty, but there are those particular days that seem just plain hard! Even more difficult is when the hard days turn into hard seasons. Many of us have periods of time that seem as though one trial leads to another and just when you think, “this is it, I can’t take anymore”, something else intrudes in on all the other stuff as though you were a trouble magnet. Times like these can drain us of our energy to live and they can zap us of joy. Hard seasons make us weak and leave us feeling as if we are unable to make it through another day. When the Apostle Paul was penning these verses to his friends in Corinth, he had been accused of being hypocritical in his love and ministry to their church. Others had started to criticize Paul saying he was two faced, weak, and hadn’t really suffered as much as he led on. They put down his preaching, teaching and his family ties.
For Paul, the hurt was hard and to the soul! He had come through some amazingly tough things all in the name of sharing the gospel. Paul, for the love of Jesus and His church, had been beaten near death, thrown off a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, cast out from his country and thought to be a fool and a charlatan. He had worked hard, been homeless and almost starved to death. Paul even shares with us that God allowed the devil to put a thorn in his flesh just to keep him humble! Talk about your hard seasons!
Yet, look at what Paul does with his hard days; he pleads with God and finds that God’s grace is sufficient! How can grace be sufficient? How can hardness ever be a benefit? Paul finds what we should find too; when we come to the end of ourselves, God is there! God’s presence in our lives brings us more power than we alone could ever show. Struggles are the very things that bring us humility and with humility comes recognition of needing help and in some cases brings us to helplessness. It is there in our helplessness that Paul says we should brag! Why? Because those around us have the opportunity to see God at work! When we quit relying on ourselves and fall onto the strength of God, all that is seen is God. Trust and faithfulness through hard things display power! A Power that is beyond us; a power that is for us and a power that others will want to have.
We can delight in needing God because He is faithful to be there! So like Paul, the same is true for us; “For when I’m weak, then I’m strong.”
Blessings
Pastor Brad
Jesus, I am so weak in so many areas of my
life that I don’t even know where to begin, but I trust you. I’m facing hard
things in my life and I don’t know if I’ll make it through, but I know you are
with me! Lord, sometimes I’m tired, confused and broken and I just feel as
though I don’t have what it takes. Help
me to remember that I have you and you have everything I need! Lord, help me to
glorify you as I travel through the hard times and may I brag about nothing but
you! I love you Jesus!
Amen
Reflection:
Try to trust Jesus in an area of weakness for you today. It could be an addiction, relationship or anything that makes you feel defeated. Hand it over to Jesus and ask Him to fight for you; then start to brag about His power and see the power begin to work.
