Sunday, May 21, 2023

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 -- On Weakness and Growth

"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
2 Corinthians 12:7-9


I like the idea here that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. If we had no weaknesses, then why would we need God's strength, or his mercy, in our lives? Indestructible, bulletproof superbeings don't need grace, and certainly can't learn from the mistakes that they do not make. Paul here makes it clear that our thorns in the flesh and our weaknesses of all sorts are the things that help us learn and draw closer to God, as we learn to rely on his strength, and understand our need for his help.

Today, let's try to appreciate our weaknesses. We don't need to wallow in them and never learn better... the point is rather that God wants us to learn to rely on him, and find ways to succeed despite weaknesses, with God's help. As we realize that we aren't perfect, which helps keep us humble, we will always have a reason to need the Spirit and guidance of God in our lives, and we'll never decieve ourselves and think that we don't need him at all, which is sometimes the worst fault because it leads to staying the way we are, or even some regression. Let's stick with God, and remember that his grace is sufficient, and that he can help us with any of our problems. Let's look to him, and learn.

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