Strong in Weakness

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 221, Strong in Weakness.

"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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Second Corinthians, chapter twelve, verse nine.

Let those words settle for just a moment.

Paul was not having an easy day when he wrote this. He had something — a pain, a limitation, something that would not leave — and he asked God to take it away. Once. Twice. Three times. And the answer that came was not the relief he was hoping for. It was a voice. It was a promise. Personal, direct, firm: "My grace is sufficient for you."

God did not ignore Paul's pain. He spoke right into the middle of it. And that is how He works — not always by lifting the weight, but by stepping into the weight with you and saying: what I have is more than enough for this.

Sufficient. That word deserves careful attention. Sufficient is not barely enough. It is not "you'll survive." Sufficient is exactly what is needed — and Christ's grace does not run thin; it overflows. In the moments when you feel something is missing inside you, when you have no strength, no faith, no capacity left — His grace is still there. Untouched. Abundant. Waiting.

And then comes the paradox that turns everything upside down: God's power is made perfect in weakness. Not in spite of weakness — in weakness. It reaches its fullest expression precisely where you and I come to the end of ourselves. The cross already proved this. Christ was nailed there in total weakness — and it was in that very weakness that the most extraordinary power in all of history was unleashed. And you are united to Him. This is not a strange idea sitting at the edge of the gospel — it is the gospel's very heart.

That is why Paul does not apologize for his weakness. He does not hide it. He does not try to push through it on his own strength. He boasts in it. And that is not self-pity, and it is not defeat — it is the confidence of someone who has understood that acknowledged weakness becomes the exact space where Christ enters with power. As long as you are pretending to be fine, as long as you are trying to carry it alone, you are keeping the door closed. But when you open your hand and say "I cannot do this" — you open the very room where He comes to dwell.

"So that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Rest — the image is of a sheltering shadow, a covering presence that comes and settles over you. Not a distant power. A power that comes to rest upon your life, upon your weakness, upon this day.

So here is what I want you to do — and I mean really do it, not just hear it. Before breakfast today, stop for a moment. Name one area of your life where you have been trying to be strong on your own. Maybe it is at work, in a relationship, with your health, somewhere deep in your heart. And say it out loud — not just in your mind, out loud — say to God: "Here is my weakness. Let your power rest upon me today."

That is not weakness. That is faith.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.