I want to talk about something a little bit unpopular today. I want to talk about weakness. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “‘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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Raise your hand if you delight in hardships. Persecutions? Insults? Seriously? None of you guys? I don’t know how holy you are then…
Well, [laughs] I will just tell you this: neither do I. I think it is so easy, in our culture, to delight in the power that comes from Christ. But it is so hard for us, sometimes, to boast in our weakness. It is so hard for us to delight in insults, persecution, and in hardships. And yet, right here in God’s Word, Paul says this.
And I love that this scripture comes right after Paul is talking about that thorn in His side. That three times He asked for it to be removed and God didn’t remove it. And so, what I have learned from this, over the course of my life…and if you don’t know my story, I think there are places you can find it online, to hear a little bit more about my story. But, I found myself on the floor of a public bathroom in February of 2001. I was in a pool of tears, homeless after being kicked out by my trafficker, and lost in addiction. Three words fell out of my mouth on that day, “God, help me.”
At that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to articulate that was me boasting in my weakness. But what I experienced at that moment was the God of heaven flooding in with all power to save me. God loves those moments. He is so close to us in those moments. I think every single one of us can look back over our lives and point to that time when we were on that bathroom floor, in a puddle of our tears, lost in our sin. For you that might be an anger issue, might have been an eating disorder, it might just be in trying to be a good parent, mother, or father. It could have been a financial hardship. We have all hit that end of ourselves. And cried out to God.
What did He do? In every situation, he floods in and rescues us. Yet, we still find ourselves wanting to avoid these pains, struggles, hardships, and persecutions. But God says we are blessed by them. God says, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the Kingdom.” That’s not something you see tweeted very often, is it? We want to boast in our strengths. We want to boast in everything God has done to make our lives glorious. And He has done those things! But I want to remind you today that there is power in boasting in your weakness.
So, I just pray today for anyone out there who has been trying to do this life in your own strength. Would the Lord meet you at this moment and remind you His strength is made perfect in weakness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.