When I Am Weak

“That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:10

The Lord gave Paul what the Bible calls a thorn in the flesh to keep him from becoming proud. There have been many debates and questions about what Paul meant by a thorn in the flesh, but what we do know for sure is that three times, Paul begged the Lord to take it away. Each time the Lord said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

I’m not going to try to give you some great revelation on what Paul meant by the thorn in the flesh, instead, I want to consider the Lord’s response to Paul when He said: “My power works best in weakness.”

God‘s power works best in weakness. Think about that statement for a moment. Nobody wants to feel weak. It’s when we are weak that we feel most vulnerable. Yet that is precisely when God‘s power works best. When we come to the end of our strength, when we’ve done all that we can do, when we’ve exhausted all our resources, when we have nothing left to give, that’s when God says, “My power works best.” For it is in our weakness that we have nothing left except to completely rely on Him. God‘s power works best when His grace is what we need because His grace is all we need.

Paul says, “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses.” Paul takes pleasure, not because he is weak, but because he knows he is in a position in which his strength can only come from God. When we are at the bottom, the only direction that we can look is up.

Perhaps you are in a place of weakness right now. Maybe you have come to the end of your strength, you have done all that you can do, you’ve exhausted all your resources, and you feel you have nothing left to give. You feel weak and vulnerable. Don’t despair. Look up. His grace is all you need. His power works best in weakness, for when you are weak, it’s actually then that you are strong.