Embracing God’s Power in Our Weakness

I'm impressed that Paul only pleaded three times for his weakness to be removed. This is admirable mainly because I've managed to make a hobby out of trying to remove mine. I have lived with anxiety, sometimes crippling, for years, and for most of that time, I never saw how it was helpful—to God or anyone. It seems obvious, like an equation: less weakness equals more usefulness.

We don't often associate weakness with power; we rarely, if ever, do. Only in God's economy would power come out of weakness. Sometimes, we consign God's power strictly to moving mountains, parting seas, and raising the dead. These examples are all magnificent shows of His almighty abilities. But we must always remember that He says His power is perfected in our weaknesses.

Ironically, God perfects His power in our most frail places, where anxiety cripples us, despair downcasts us, or limitations overcome us. When we accept—even choose to see good in—our weaknesses instead of pleading for their removal, we allow God to perfect His power. Don't rush by this. Stop and reread that last sentence and let it sink in deeply to your weakest places that you beg to be removed: God's power is made perfect in weakness. I don't know about you, but that gives me chills...and hope.

Jesus, our savior, modeled this truth by coming weak in the flesh, utterly reliant on His heavenly Father. He did not push aside his weakness but embraced it while walking to the cross with the Father's holy power. In His humility and humanity, He accessed God's sufficient grace and perfect power, and through his sacrifice, He revealed that there is victory in vulnerability. 

Paul's message in this scripture is not one of defeat, where we shrug our shoulders and say, "Well, I tried," no, it's one of victory! It's the key to understanding how God's power is perfected. His strength rests with the weak, the struggling, the poor, and the grieving. The truth we so often forget is that our humanity is what qualifies us to carry God's power. Jesus granted to us, through the Holy Spirit, the "Divine power" for "All things that pertain to life and godliness." (2 Peter 1:3) 

This world will tell us to overcome, ignore, and banish our weaknesses. However, God tells us to rest in His grace, which is enough for Him to do His powerful, perfect work. His strength shines brightest when we finally lay it down and admit, "I'm weak; I can't do this."

The truth is that your weakness can be the most significant conduit of God's power. Knowing this should cause us to victoriously shout aloud with Paul, "When I am weak, then I am strong!" God's power is changing and reshaping you. This beautiful truth shows us that rather than seeking freedom from weakness, we can embrace the fact that we are already free. We are free to rest in God's sufficient grace while the power that raised Jesus works within our weakest places. What a fantastic truth!

Questions for Reflection:

1. What do you think is your greatest weakness?
2. How have you seen God's power through this weakness?
3. If you haven't seen His power through it or feel He could never use it for good, take some time today to pray through this. Ask Him to show sufficient grace and perfect power in your weakest places. He is always faithful to answer when we ask.