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. (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10, NKJV).
Dear God, it is with joy that we enter Your Presence to tell You thanks for the marvelous gift of grace. May we continue to come to the Throne of Grace to find mercy, and the undeserved gift of Your amazing grace when we are in need. In the name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen & amen.
Continuing where we left off yesterday brings us to another feature of grace: the ability to boast about our weakness (humility). This is not an easy thing to do. It is not even considered the normal thing to do. Regardless of what our weakness may be it is not a banner we want to unfurl for all the world to see, because weakness, is perceived as vulnerability.
Perhaps in the regular world weakness, and vulnerability are bad words. In my personal experience, not so in the spiritual realm. As Paul discovered, experiencing God’s grace in the time of his weakness was more to be desired than being made free from that weakness. That is something that many Christians can testify to. Notice the apostle’s exclamation after God assured him that His grace was sufficient: “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”!
Who wants to be sick? Who wants to be reproached? Who wants to suffer need? Who wants to be persecuted? Who wants to be in distress? Normally I would jump to answer, “no one!” But that would not be exactly true, after hearing Paul’s conclusion. He did not reluctantly accept his situation. He took pleasure in it! He preferred to boast in it, most gladly!
We cannot boast about having anything to do with our salvation, because it is only by grace through faith. But like Paul, we can choose to boast about our weakness, so that Christ might be glorified in us, when by His marvelous grace we are made strong!