Week 47 Corinthians
Paul: three different times I begged the Lord to take [my ailment] away. Each time he said, My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may work through me.
A Weak Man’s Prayer (after reading Paul): Okay. So this is where I’m at… what I’ve got…what I’ve got to deal with. I’ve prayed for relief…multiple times. Now it looks like I’m not getting out of this, not getting rid of my pain. I’m at the very front-edge of starting to understand what’s going on. For one thing you’re here with me. You said your grace was enough for me (and I hope that’s true). And I’m also starting to think that you actually prefer me being where I am right now. Not sure I totally agree but I’m thinking that you’re thinking that it’s better for me this way. You said your power is enhanced by my weakness. That my weakness is a better raw material for you than my strength. Your power is magnified – it shows up better – in my weakness. So my weakness isn’t exactly what I figure it is. I need to keep that in mind: my weakness isn’t so bad; my power maybe isn’t so helpful. My disability is a kind of optimal operating system for your power to run. So…thank you. Amen.
Note: quote from 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NLT)