“Who is weak, and I am not weak?”
2 Corinthians 11:29
Weakness is the common lot of humanity. If it were not so, we would not have needed a Saviour. If we were willing and able by our own strength to serve Him in purity of heart, devotion of will, and singleness of eye, then the strong would be blessed and the weak without hope.
“But He said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness…”
2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
The difference between our life being a light in this world or one that is of little consequence rests solely in the wonder of faith. Faith does not rest in the teachings or doctrines of men but solely upon the power of the living God.
Faith embraces one’s weakness like a vine uses the trellis
to cover and fully enwrap it in its own beauty.
Human weakness is the atmosphere in which the grace of God thrives. It is the nature of Grace to fill every vacuum, to empower our feebleness. It is God’s pure pleasure to raise fallen humanity to the perfections of Christ.
Paul was fully aware of his inability to serve God. The wretched Pharisee who went about “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” (Acts 9:1) became a flaming torch of Christ, serving the Lord day and night in a passion not his own (Acts 20:31).
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was toward me has not been without fruit, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 (LITV)
Contained within the Mystery of Christ in every believer’s life lies this secret:
“…for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
2 Corinthians 9:10
It is a secret that the strong cannot learn. It can only be discovered by our own walk in Him. The disobedient, the proud, and the learned disqualify themselves from this mystery.
May we discover God’s purpose in His gift of grace.
“His grace which was toward me
has not been without fruit…”
Grace produces fruitful living in our weakness. It is the strong, the rebellious, and the obstinate who separate themselves from the power and wonder of God’s empowering grace.
“Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you
not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
2 Corinthians 6:1 (ESV)
Grace is the power that enables us to DO His work and to feel His joy in doing so. Our growth in grace will bring us into the “yoke of Christ,” where we discover His strength in His specific Will for us.
“…but I labored more abundantly than all of them,
yet not I, but the grace of God with(in) me.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 (LITV)
Believers who avail themselves of His grace will, in time, discover the work the Lord has purposed for them. Just as our human body has no members that do not contribute to the life of the whole, so it is, in God’s wisdom, that every child of His has the potential to become a significant ministration to others in His Body.
Our actual ministration of life to the Body of Christ will be to the measure that we have allowed our weakness to be enveloped by His grace.
“My power is made perfect in weakness…”
2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
Into This Grace
This specific grace flows through the conduit of a faith that draws from Him the resources of the Divine Life.
“Through Him we have also obtained
access by faith into this grace …”
Romans 5:2 (ESV)
Every child of God has been given access BY faith into THIS grace. This grace is the power of Almighty God, the El Shaddai of all creation. It moves us in our weakness and exchanges our barrenness with life that bears fruit unto Him!
“His grace which was toward me
has not been without fruit…”
“Many Christians estimate difficulty in the light of their own resources, and thus they attempt very little, and they always fail. All giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence to be with them”
– Hudson Taylor
The Wonder of Weakness
“For the sake of Christ,
then, I am content with weaknesses…”
2 Corinthians 9:10
Related Post: The True Strength
Brian Troxel
Yes, the eternally immutable One Three Person God of all grace and all glory is proven perfect in my personal pitifulness. I am no good, never was, never shall be, but by God.
I revel and rejoice to love the One Triune God of all mercy, all magnificence, and all munificence because He first loved me.
It takes the holy Trinity of loving, living infinity to love the God Who is love and the light.
To love God is to exult in and extol God in awe-stricken, worshipful, loving obedience, not by our might nor our power but by His inimitable Spirit of holiness and intercession, for the all-transcendent Treasure Whom He is, giving us to be partakers of His perfect, divine nature, conforming us to the character of Christ, granting us everlasting citizenship and companionship in the celestial city, courtyards, and countryside.
Romans 8:26-39 AMP
Our Victory in Christ
26 In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of [c]God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers. 30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
31 What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us? 32 He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself]. 34 Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us. 35 Who shall ever separate us from the love of [d]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 Just as it is written and forever remains written,
“For Your sake we are put to death all day long;
We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us]. 38 For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen and Amen! 🙌
Blessings
BT