But He said to me, “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. 2 Corinthians 12:9
When was the last time you felt weak? Weakness is not a trait that our society admires. It is not something that people strive for and hope to feel. I recently sat with some friends who are facing something difficult, and I was struck by something they shared, “We are usually the ones helping others, not the ones asking for help.” It is not easy to ask for help. It makes us feel even weaker, more incompetent, and completely inadequate. Yet, this passage encourages us to embrace our weakness so that God’s power can be revealed in strong and bold ways.
It is common to hear this passage quoted when someone is facing something challenging. “My grace is sufficient.” We repeat those four words over and over to encourage our hearts. Would it be more encouraging if we knew why His grace is sufficient. If we understood how His “power is made perfect in weakness?”
Weakness comes in all forms: spiritual, emotional, mental, physical. No one is immune from it. We see many examples of those who experienced times of weakness in scripture; our own Savior felt the anguish of physical weakness. Yet, we prefer to mask it behind a façade of strength, confidence, and independence rather than admit to it. We prefer to pretend that we do not need anyone else, telling ourselves that we can single handedly rise above our circumstances and achieve success independently .I wonder what are we missing out on when we don’t allow ourselves to receive this gift that God is extending to us.
Do you hear God’s permission to feel weak? Please understand the distinction. We are not weak, we feel weak. God did not create us to be weaklings who could not do anything for ourselves. Weaklings who needed someone else to make all of our decisions or to protect us from all adversity. However, He did create us knowing that we would have times of weakness. Seasons when we didn’t know how to handle a child who was struggling. Seasons when we may struggle with our jobs. Seasons during which big decisions need to be made, and we simply are not sure of the right path forward. In these moments, our Father, our Creator, is inviting us to come to Him and lay all of our struggles and questions at His feet. He is inviting us to lay down our burdens and trust Him to provide for us, to carry us, and to comfort us.
In these moments, when we feel inadequate and incompetent, He says, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” In the original Greek, the word power in this passage is dynamis. This word is used 120 times in the New Testament. This same Greek word dynamis is also used In Mark 5, where we read of the woman who had been bleeding for years. She knew with all of her heart that if she could just touch the hem of Christ’s garment, she would be healed. Verse 30 tells us that when she touched Him, Jesus realized that “power had gone out from Him.” Dynamis – the same power that God wants to give us when we feel weak.
He is offering His power, a power that can not be explained, yet is made perfect when we embrace our weakness and allow our Father to provide. I am praying today that you are able to embrace your own weakness so that you can be strengthened by God’s power.
With Eyes on the Cross 