There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
In reading these verses, I am reminded times that I've gotten into a jam in my life because of choices that I made and the consequences of those choices. Whether the problem was with finances, relationships, taking care of my body, or anything else, I was convinced that since I, in effect, set the chain of events into motion that got me to that point, it would be up to me to act upon more decisions to get myself out.
But guess what? In the area of life where I made the bad decisions, I was weak. If I weren't weak, I would have used better judgement and not be in such a mess. I was told by someone years ago, 'If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." Trying to fix my weaknesses on my own would likely result in more poor decisions, and being stuck with no "out" in sight.
If we could do everything perfectly on our own, why would we need God's grace? (oh no....here comes the "S" word again...)
By surrendering our weakness to God and asking for his help and letting God be the awesome God that he truly is, we can then attest to God's power in our lives. We can say to those around us, "I was weak in this area of my life, and couldn't change it on my own. When I allowed Jesus into my life I gave my weakness over to him. It's through His power and grace that this area has changed my life for the better. And it couldn't have happened any other way."
I don't know about you, but I'm actually thankful for my weaknesses. That opens up more opportunities to see God at work in my life!
In reading these verses, I am reminded times that I've gotten into a jam in my life because of choices that I made and the consequences of those choices. Whether the problem was with finances, relationships, taking care of my body, or anything else, I was convinced that since I, in effect, set the chain of events into motion that got me to that point, it would be up to me to act upon more decisions to get myself out.
But guess what? In the area of life where I made the bad decisions, I was weak. If I weren't weak, I would have used better judgement and not be in such a mess. I was told by someone years ago, 'If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." Trying to fix my weaknesses on my own would likely result in more poor decisions, and being stuck with no "out" in sight.
If we could do everything perfectly on our own, why would we need God's grace? (oh no....here comes the "S" word again...)
By surrendering our weakness to God and asking for his help and letting God be the awesome God that he truly is, we can then attest to God's power in our lives. We can say to those around us, "I was weak in this area of my life, and couldn't change it on my own. When I allowed Jesus into my life I gave my weakness over to him. It's through His power and grace that this area has changed my life for the better. And it couldn't have happened any other way."
I don't know about you, but I'm actually thankful for my weaknesses. That opens up more opportunities to see God at work in my life!
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