STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS

Have you read Paul’s account in 2^nd Corinthians 12:1-10? His message on becoming strong through the weakness or trying times is an encouragement to every believer who is facing hard times with the death of a beloved one, an accident, an addiction, peer pressure, idolatry, sexual immorality, seduction, the list goes on.

Paul does not actually mention what his weakness was, but he called it a thorn in his flesh. This was something he asked the word so many times to take away from him but this is what the Lord rather told him,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 cor. 12:9).

Paul starts the chapter saying that he will not boast himself and he does not know what others may have heard of him, but he emphasizes that he will rather boast in his infirmities, his weakness, so that the power of God may rest upon him. (vrs 9b) Paul says that his infirmities or weakness are thorns that do not allow him to exalt himself above measure with all that he had accomplished.

When we think of Paul in the Bible, we all think of his great achievements for the gospel and all he went through. Sometimes we even may boast about his works but for Paul, he says he did not want to be exalted above measure because any time he felt it was by his own strength and that he could do it all by himself, that weakness he had, came to further show him that he could not do it all and that weakness made him draw far more closer to God for strength.

Today I do not know what you are going through that makes it seem like God is around or that He is intentionally punishing you. Maybe you have lost someone whom to you, may have been your all and you feel you can’t go on any longer. Believe me when I say that when God becomes you sole source of strength, you can move through those weaknesses, or trying times and gain strength. I am not saying it will be easy but there is God who can help you if you let Him.

Have you realised that many times when people go through a difficult time that is when they begin to call upon God more? Many times I have had this experience and still do, where my relationship with God is going very steady, you are praying, you are studying His word, you are winning souls, you are paying your tithe, you are daily communicating with God, etc and then the relationship starts breaking and you are moving further from God and you unconsciously think you are doing fine on your own but then you face a trying or difficult time, a challenge, a problem, a mountain, that you can’t go through, and that when you realise that you can’t do it on you own so you go back to God so that he helps you. What happened? The weakness I faced just like Paul made me rely solely on God’s grace that gave me strength in weakness. On the lighter side you can call it, a supernatural defence mechanism.

Maybe for you that weakness may be lying, stealing, treating others badly, the urge for sexual immorality –fornication, lust, pornography, adultery, smoking, drinking, an accident that you may or may not have gotten injured. It is anything that may want to ensnare you or actually does.

Sometimes our weaknesses could come in different forms and not just one. I am not saying that because our weakness or infirmities make us draw closer to God, you would commit adultery or fornicate for example and say that it will get you closer to God. No! I am saying that these weaknesses come when you don’t expect and the urge to do them may be too strong for and you may actually do them. But when you do, you feel this emptiness inside of you and that is what gets you closer to God because then you feel so disappointed, ashamed and empty that only God can help you to back on track. BUT be warned, if these weakness come and you don’t go to God to strengthen you, you will fall so fast and so quickly within a short time that you will feel you don’t need God anymore. GET BACK TO GOD.

Today, the message from Paul is that through you weaknesses, addictions, infirmities, sins, God’s gives you strength to go through them so that when they occur again, with God’s strength you will not succumb.

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