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In his Christian journey and during one of the
worst times of his life, Paul acknowledged the
empowerment of Christ. He then
shared what he learned with the Corinthian believers and wrote: "For the
sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships,
persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2
Corinthians 12:10 ESV). And from this experience, there are two principles for
our reflection today:
1. Being content with
Christ provides empowerment that can drastically change how we face various
challenges in life.
2. During times of
weakness, submitting to Christ becomes an opportunity for Him to empower
us with His strength.
Maybe you are
wondering how the Lord empowered Paul after experiencing the worst possible
attack of his life. How does the strength of God manifest during the weakest
point of life? However, in his letter to the Philippian congregation, he shared
how he grew stronger in his relationship with Jesus despite experiencing
various encounters of the worst kind:
“Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be
brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have
learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do
all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13 ESV)
Charles Spurgeon shared how God empowers His people: “Great tribulation brings out the great strength of God. Oh, there must be the weakness of man, felt, recognized, and mourned over, or else the strength of the Son of God will never be perfected in us.”
In other words,
God sustains with His power what He expects to accomplish during the worst
times of life. It is about keeping our perspective aligned with His plans and
purposes for everything that matters. And in doing so, it increases our faith
and motivation moving forward. Moreover, every little and big thing that
happens comes with a specific purpose for fulfilling His mandate given to us.
Thus, never miss what God reveals each moment because He promises everything
will be alright!
What matters is seeing things from the perspective
of God and the reasoning behind it all. Unfortunately, we diminish the bigness of
God when we focus on the problem, thus making it bigger than God. Remember, God
is always in control of what He wants to accomplish in our lives and trusting
Him is the only option during the worst times.
Finally, let me share this statement for us to
think about:
“God’s
strength is made perfect in weakness when we put our faith and trust in Him.
The Lord’s presence is all we need in times of weakness. His great power and
sufficiency rest on us as we find our strength in Him, and He is glorified. We
can say with the psalmist, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26).”[i]
Let’s talk again!
