He knew exactly where his strength came from.Īs for me, I’d like God’s power. We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself … But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. Paul was no triumphant victor over suffering: he was a man who feared and trembled, who was whipped and stoned and hungry, who was imprisoned and deserted by his friends (1 Cor 2:3 2 Cor 11:23-29 2 Tim 4:16). ![]() The point isn’t that Paul rose above his pain: the point is that he was still weak, but Christ gave him strength to stand firm and press on. When he begged God to take away the thorn in his flesh, Christ said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Paul knew this paradoxical truth from the inside out. But when he enables me to endure even when I am weak, people can see that the strength is from him, and I am made humble and dependent. If God made me strong, all people would see was my strength, and I would become proud. He explained that it’s not freedom from weakness that God usually gives, but strength in weakness – the strength to keep obeying and serving even when I feel tired and overwhelmed and like I can’t go on. I once asked my husband why, if God gives us strength, I still feel so weak. The last one intrigues me, because it doesn’t feel true in my experience.
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