Power in Weakness

In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes about experiencing what he called "a thorn in the flesh." We don't know exactly what that was, but most scholars believe Paul was dealing with some kind of physical ailment. The word he uses for the pain it caused suggests something genuinely excruciating.

Three times Paul pleaded with the Lord to remove it. But the Lord answered, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Power out of weakness. Have you ever experienced that?

I think about how, in moments of weakness, there is less pride in us, less willfulness, less self getting in the way — and therefore more room for God's Spirit to do something new. I think about how vulnerability tends to deepen our compassion for others; we come to know, personally, what it feels like to need help.

I think about the way God uses the broken and hurting places of the world as seedbeds for new life. I think about people I know who took their own hardest struggles and turned them into a way of reaching back to help the next person through.

And I think about the cross — the ultimate demonstration of this same pattern. God's greatest act was accomplished not through strength or domination, but through suffering and apparent defeat.

Paul's rivals believed that God's power was best displayed through status, accomplishment, and impressive credentials. Paul saw it differently. Later in this same letter he admits he did not come to the Corinthians with lofty words of wisdom. He confesses to humbling, even humiliating circumstances. He took on demeaning work. His opponents mocked him as physically unimpressive.

And yet, Paul insists, it is precisely in that weakness that God's power becomes visible. Look at what God did through one broken man on a cross.

I don't know where you may be experiencing weakness in your own life right now — in your health, your relationships, your faith. But wherever it is, may you hear again the words the Lord spoke to Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you... for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Prayer: God of grace, take our weakness, our hurts, our burdens, and heal what you will. Grant us courage and strength. And give us a heart to trust that you are at work even in our brokenness, even now, making all things new. Amen.

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