When I Am Weak
May 25, 2008
Scripture:
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 - “…And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Synopsis:
We in American society worship strength. We are attracted to those with physical, emotional and financial power and many of us seek to gain this kind of strength. This strength is defined as the ability to exert great power and influence. God wants us to be strong, which is why He sends resistance into our lives. But the kind of strength He wants us to have comes form pressing through and overcoming adversity, from being buffeted and bruised by repeated blows from life that expose our weaknesses. Our exposed weaknesses are the catalyst that activates God’s love and mercy. So the weaker we are, the stronger God is in our lives, which is the true source of our strength.
According to today’s text, written by the apostle Paul, weakness is not a point at the end of our strength but a perpetual state of frailty that is the true indicator of our humanity. This weakness is the “dirt” God used when He created man and ultimately decided to mix with His divinity to bring about His purpose in the earth. It is the mixing of the “dirt” of our humanity and the “water” of God’s divinity that is the foundation of our strength. When we allow this mix to get out of balance through our own efforts to live for God without the influence of His Spirit, we are open prey for the enemy who loves to attack us at the point of our weakness.
God hates it when the enemy tries to uses our weakness to discredit and destroy us. It was this cowardly spirit that caused God to condemn the Amalekites to total destruction when they attacked the children of Israel from behind as they crossed the wilderness. And God will condemn the “Amalekite” spirit of religion in the earth today that attacks His children by dredging up their past in order to destroy their future. Those under attack must remember and rehearse to themselves what the apostle Paul discovered, “…when I am weak, then I am strong.”
