God's Strength in Our Weakness

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. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

• God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, says the apostle Paul.


• When we are weak in ourselves, then we are strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we see ourselves weak in ourselves, then we go out of ourselves to Christ, and are qualified to receive strength from Him, and experience most of the supplies of divine strength and grace.


• Some of us are able to create an illusion of strength and self-sufficiency. We think we are strong and able to take care of ourselves. But sudden loss of health, employment, or a treasured relationship is a startling reminder of our total dependence on God. Vulnerability is the key to an intimate relationship with God, being able to come to Him with all our insecurities and sin laid bare.


• When we experience the fiery furnace of suffering, whether physical or emotional, whether persecution from without or humiliation from within, God’s loving purpose is to make us pure and strong. God uses testing in our lives to rid us of impurity, and teach us that our strength is in Him and not in self-sufficiency.


• Suffering is the fire that God uses to purify and strengthen us, to make us more usable in God's service and more like Christ.