Being Strong

DEVOTION

 2 CORINTHIANS

BEING STRONG

2 Cor 12:7-10

7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 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. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

NIV

No one knows for certain just exactly what this thorn in his flesh was, but we do know for certain it gave him some cause for discomfort. It might have actually been an infirmity or it may have been a particular weakness toward a certain temptation. Way too many conjectures by way too many scholars, yet nothing is actually known. What we do know, however, is that through this weakness whatever it was; God’s power was made perfect because of it. This takes us to that same point we saw before. When we are so well prepared, educated, trained and able to function so perfectly in whatever endeavor we choose, then it does not show the power of God, but it shows our worldly strength. When we are having troubles, difficultly in accomplishing tasks set before us by God then we have to rely on him and his power and might can be displayed in us. If we do have some particular hardship, or infirmity which causes us pain in some way, and it seems that we cannot find healing, or peace then we can be assured that his grace is sufficient and we should simply forge ahead doing his will. What good is complaining about a weakness? What good comes from giving in whatever troubles us? What benefit is there in giving up because of some form of pain? Why should we think God is giving us a stop sign because we encounter a little resistance, or difficultly? It is through all these things that the power of God may be demonstrated in our lives. But even in that we when are weak, because of God working in our lives, we are in fact strong. When we forge forward in the face of any diversity, moving on, being a benefit to the Kingdom of God, we show the whole world the power of God. But that is the key, being a benefit to the Kingdom of God, as Paul was. We cannot expect this grace if we are simply serving our own agendas, we need to be serving God. Then when we are weak we will be strong.