True Strength In Weakness
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 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.
10 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.
Today, many Christians are seeking for powerful apostles,
prophets and preachers so that they too can receive and have the
same powers like these leaders! Their mindset is that in order to be
strong and powerful, they need to build themselves up, and have
dominion over others! They are zealous and eager to grab more, take
authority and have control over others!
Sad to say, many of those who are searching for strategic methods
and breakthrough formulae, have lost control of their own lives.
They have become disappointed, discontented, disorientated and
disillusioned. Instead of getting better, many have become very
bitter with themselves, with others and with God!
God is still telling us that His grace is sufficient for us. He is
all that we need, and His power is working when we are weak. True
strength can only be found in our weaknesses! Thus, we can be
happy even though we may be weak! We can be unashamed of our weaknesses
so that we can encounter the protection and power of Christ over us.
We can be contented with weaknesses, insults, hardships,
persecutions, and difficulties for the sake of Christ. For when we are
weak, then we are strong.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
Cast Down but Unconquered
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence
of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Truly, we have this spiritual treasure in our mortal bodies. Like common clay pots,
we can be easily broken! But we have a divine power. And this power
comes from God, and not from us. We may be
troubled, but not crushed. We may be in doubt, but never
in despair. We may feel lonely, but never alone!
Though there are many enemies around us, but we are never without a Friend.
Though we can be badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed. At all
times, we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that His
life may also be seen in our bodies. Truly His grace is sufficient
for us, and His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. When we
are weak, then we are strong.
Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of adversity,
Your strength is small.
Many people appear to be strong and steady when things are going
smoothly and favorably for them. But when troubles come,
their operating systems break down, and all their problems begin to
surface. They can deal with positive achievements and
accomplishments, but they cannot handle negative slowdowns and setbacks! In
trying to get back to their former successful states, they will have to work
doubly hard, and strive for longer hours per day. As such, they
feel very stressed and fatigued every day, and eventually become burnt outs!
They indeed have very little strength
when troubles come.
James 4:6-7
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from
you.
Who will receive more grace from God? Those who are humble and meek!
The grace that God gives is stronger than all the powers in the
world! But are we humble enough to receive the grace of God? God
resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. God will not give
in to the decrees and declarations that the proud and arrogant people often demand and
command to come to pass.
Before God can help us, we need to first submit
ourselves to God. Only then, we will be able to resist the devil,
and he will run away from us. Many people tried to fight the devil
without first submitting to the Lord. As such, they got hurt badly,
and became very discouraged and disillusioned!
Today, many Christians are operating in their flesh, and not in the Spirit.
We have many pursuits and plans, both godly and ungodly ones. We can
labor and toil day and night, and yet bearing very little or no fruits. When
making little or no progress, we think that the devil
is blocking and preventing us from having any breakthroughs!
But sometimes it may be the Lord who is resisting us! He is watching
over us, day and night. He knows what is happening to us. He knows
what we are doing. And He also knows the motives and agendas inside
our hearts! As God can open doors for us, He can also close doors
against us!
When God resists the proud, many of us may be fighting and wrestling
not against the devil, but against the Lord Himself! Amazingly, a lot of us can
spend a great portion of our lives doing this! Wresting and
fighting against God! In the end, we will gain nothing as all our
human efforts and hard works will go down the drain! And God will
never give in to the proud!
Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Those who are humble will be happy because the earth will belong to
them. To obtain the grace of God, we need to humble ourselves before
the Lord!
What is grace? More than just another theological term, grace is the
power of God working in our lives to do what we cannot do in our
own strengths. Grace is letting go of all our efforts in the
flesh, and letting God taking over in the Spirit! When we come to
the end of ourselves, we must not give up! We must give in to God!
We must submit to God! We must let God be God! By letting go of
whatever plans and pursuits we are holding tightly to
do what we want, we start to allow God to work inside us! Yes, changing and
transforming us to do what God desires. Not our will, but His will
be done! When we humble ourselves before God, He will give us grace
and strengthen our hearts!
John 15:5
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in
him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
The Lord is the Vine, and we are the branches. When we live in
Him and He lives in us, we will become very fruitful! For apart from
Him, we can do nothing. Until we are abiding in Him, we will continue to be fruitless!
No works done in the flesh can have glory in His presence. We need
to cease working in the flesh, and start to abide in Him! The sooner
we realize and acknowledge this, the earlier we will begin to make
the strategic U-turn back to God! No more fighting and wrestling
with Him, but walking and living with Him in His love and light!
Psalm 27:14
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Thus, let us not be impatient when things are not going smoothly for
us. We need to wait for the Lord, and He will come and save us! We
need to be courageous, and He will strengthen our hearts. When we
are weak, we need to wait patiently for Him! When we are weak, we
need to come before the Lord! God will give us His grace, and
strengthen us!
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
When we abide in the Lord, we will be able to do everything that God
requires us to do with the help of Christ who
gives us the strength and power to do so.
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!
True strength is His, and not our own! Not our own strengths, but
His alone!
Written on 15 December 2021