When I Am weak I Am Strong
There is no other way to approach this topic without going directly through scripture. Not everyone knows scripture nor do they understand the value of printed words published in a book. To some, it is purely paper with words printed on it but to those familiar with scripture, it is a living Spirit activated by the Word. Many do not know what the Word is and that is yet another reason why they do not respect the Holy Scriptures. Over my years I have spent a lot of time reading, studying, and digesting scripture so forgive me if I say things that may sound unfamiliar.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1: 1–2 — That is the Word I speak about.
Let’s start this conversation with a passage of scripture that speaks about this essay title. It is from the second letter to the people of Corinth that the apostle Paul wrote to the newly fomented body of believers in Christ who had no idea what Christianity entailed. I try to put myself in their shoes and like them, I would probably have had a problem accepting something so unusual, so foreign, and so against how human beings were conditioned to accept spiritual matters. They perceived God through Law and rules of obedience, not through a person claiming to be the Son of God and one that died and was raised from the dead. How unusual that must have sounded to the new believers of those times.
This passage I am referencing actually comes from an experience Paul had that he could not explain yet He turned to God for relief and an explanation. Rather than God relieving the situation, He told Paul that it is because of this weakness (thorn in your side) that you (Paul) are right where I need you to be in order to carry out the mission that I need you to fulfill. I pasted the scripture here that is relevant to this conversation but you need to read before and after the passage that I copied for your convenience.
“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. 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 Cor. 12: 9–10
If you think about this passage why would a weakness be considered a strength in any manner? In order to understand this, you have to understand who or what God IS and who or what we are compared with God. This topic could go very deep if you are of the need to have hard solid proof or evidence. On the other hand, if you have faith then you are compelled to accept things by your faith, which is the evidence of things unseen.
Without having the privilege of being filled with the Holy Spirit most of what I am stating here might sound like gibberish! It would be akin to someone speaking to you in a foreign language that you have no idea what they are saying. Interpreting scripture to a degree of understanding what is means requires having the Spirit of God opening the eyes of your understanding for you. If those doors are not open you can hear what it says but it will not make that much sense to you if God does not allow the word to penetrate deeply into your heart and soul. Therefore in order for the Word of God to make sense to your mind, it will need the assistance of the Maker of the Word, otherwise, it will sound like gibberish. So let’s unpack what this statement is saying, ‘when I am weak, then I am strong.’
Obviously to the writer, Paul wanted relief from something that ailed him. Having accepted His calling from the Lord He asked the Lord to remove this ailment. Knowing Paul from a level deep within his soul the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” In essence, the Spirit knew Paul’s faults and tendencies so in order that he would not become conceited or feeling more the focus of the situation than warranted, his submission under God’s plan was essential for achieving God’s plan rather than removing whatever unpleasant ailment that was afflicting Paul. Paul referred to it this way: “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” We don’t know exactly what kind of affliction this was but in referencing Satan we know it couldn’t have been anything good.
Paul’s weakness made him humble to God and cry out for relief. He later came to understand that rather than making this situation all about him it was more about what God wanted to achieve through him. Therefore Paul realized that his weakness made him relent to God, rather than surrendering to his personal ailment. That acknowledgment shined like a light bulb in Paul’s awareness because he realized that it was more important to achieve God’s plan rather than anything for himself personally.
Through the missionary works of Paul, the world would be able to grow spiritually with Paul’s humility. Had it been only about Paul’s situation only one man would have achieved relief from pain. Therefore with this realization, Paul said: “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.” Paul understood that this was bigger than him and potentially beneficial for the entire kingdom. This ultimately is the nature of a true servant. Not everyone is cut out to fill such large shoes.
That was great for someone with the statue of Paul and his role in developing the Christian faith while grafting Gentiles into the body of believers of Christ. This was not possible before Christ but it was the mission that Christ imposed upon Paul. As we are able to read the many books of the New Testament today we reap the benefit of that decision that Paul made to give of himself (self-sacrifice) so the world could gain of the Spirit.
What are we to learn from that lesson? Just like Paul we too are just one pixel of a much larger picture that God is painting. If we make this all about us personally we do not see the big picture. If we want God to bless us or to take away our personal miseries then we make it about us and not about what God wants to achieve through us. Even though I would like to have or achieve all that is possible for me personally I would rather surrender my needs to God’s plans so countless others might gain. God wants all His children to become loyal servants but that is not something that He forces upon us.
Most of us have needs, bills, problems, issues, and the like but rather than praying for God to remove our personal problems why not instead ask God to use us in order to achieve something much greater than benefits untold numbers of souls? Jesus suggested that we simply pray for the will of God. “Thy will be done,” in the Lord’s Prayer. I would rather give up my temporary gratifications for eternal bliss for others. That is a sentiment that most of us who know God and are still living in the flesh would be willing to sacrifice. The key to this statement is those who know God. If they know not God, then that becomes a different story.
Perhaps once we are dead and gone from the earth we will look back and wish we had given up our personal gains for the salvation of other souls. Though God wants servants who are willing to serve the kingdom He will not ask more of you than He placed in you. He placed all that courage, persistence, perseverance, knowledge, and other strong personal characteristics in Paul at birth, even when he was known as Saul. Because of his personal sacrifice, Paul sits up in the kingdom with our Lord Christ Jesus. I can only imagine that such a club is comprised of the world’s finest servants and certainly Paul would be among the greatest of them.
Though we all can’t be like Paul, but certainly there is much more that we can give to the kingdom if we allow God to use what He put in us at birth in order to achieve the mission at hand. There is no need to look back and say what you could or should have done but only look forward and do what you can do now to serve God and be a blessing to His kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. So now I realize that my weakness is also my strength because when I am weak, God can use me in ways that I never knew possible. It’s not about me but about God… To our Heavenly Father be the Glory… Selah!
