Lent 2020 day 21

’But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”’(2 Corinthians 12:9)

Thank goodness for this reminder today, because we have no idea how to play the ‘instrument’ that’s being handed us right now... and feeling very small and weak and in need of power from the master who has far greater skill than us...

Ben Doolan writes:

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus, is important in the eyes of the people of the church in Corinth. He is their pastor and teacher. He's also famous all over the region. In the Roman Empire, it would have been unusual to be willing to express weakness. Many people today struggle to show any kind of vulnerability. You rise to the top by being strong. But the way of the kingdom is different.

If you or I were faced with difficulty or hardship, our instinct, like Paul’s, might be to pray for it to be removed (2 Corinthians 12:8). Paul’s prayer was answered, but not in the way he was expecting: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’

This answered prayer meant that Paul could be honest about his weaknesses, because he was following the way of the cross – even though it looked like foolishness to the world (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Dear God,
Help me to trust you even in weakness. Help me to boast not in my own strength, but only in the cross where defeat is turned to victory and death is turned to life.
Amen.”