Today we continue our new series entitled, “Press through it!”
We have been looking at the following passage for a few days. Let’s go back to it again this morning. The Apostle Paul said:
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three 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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
(2 Cor 12:2-10 NIV)
Today I want to focus in on this line: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Everything Jesus is has been made available to us. His ministry is our ministry. God loves us with the same love He loved Jesus with. God filled us with the same Holy Spirit He filled His own Son with. The Father has now called us to live, as Jesus is, in this world (1 Jn 4:17). But none of this is possible as a mere human. None of this will become a reality in our own strength. Jesus did not do what He did in His humanity. He did it in His divinity. Therefore, it is only when we are weak, when we acknowledge the fact that our humanity is not good enough, that we are able to be made strong. At this point we are equipped, enabled, empowered and employed by the Holy Spirit to do what we could never do without God. This is how we become superhuman. This is how the supernatural becomes natural to us. As we minimize our humanity, God is able to maximize His divinity IN, WITH and THROUGH us.
2. Most Christians want to operate in supernatural power. Most believers want Christ’s power to rest upon them and flow through them. Paul tells us how. He teaches us that we must be weak in order to be made strong. Unless we embrace the fact that our humanity is limited, God’s limitless power cannot flow through us. Unless we die, God is not free to live IN us. Unless we get to the end of ourselves, we will never be in position to allow God to be all He desires to be in us, with us and through us.
3. Paul teaches us to boast in our weakness. I know I don’t have the money to fund the projects God has called me to oversee. I know I don’t have the experience to qualify for the leadership positions I am called to walk in. I know I don’t have the power, in my humanity, to perform the supernatural acts I am called to perform as part of my life’s assignment. I know I don’t have the wisdom, in my own mind, to be able to teach and preach what I am called to impart. Therefore, like Paul, I boast in my weakness that Christ’s power may rest upon me. I will do all the aforementioned, but it won’t be me doing it. It will be the Father, living in me, with me and through me. He will give me the words. He will perform the work. He has the power. He will provide the insight. It’s all about Him! When I am weak, I am thankfully MADE STRONG!
4. The secret to success in Christ is not more trying. If it were about human effort many of us would have attained it a long time ago. The secret to success in Christ is MORE DYING. As we die to sin, self, and our self-limitations, God is free to live in us and do what He called us to do from the foundations of the world. When we embrace our weakness, God is free to release His strength.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I boast in my weakness. I know I don’t have the money to fund my assignment. But I am not moved by it, because You already stored up everything I would ever need. I know I don’t have the experience to do what You called me to do. But You give me wisdom that exceeds my years and education. I know I don’t have the power to perform the supernatural acts I am required to perform. But You have given me power over serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing shall by any means harm me. There are a million reasons why I can’t do what I am called to do. But I only need ONE REASON to say yes. That reason is a person and His name is Jesus. Without Your Son I can’t. But with Jesus, I CAN DO ALL THINGS! When I am weak, you make me strong. I enter this day equipped, enabled, empowered and employed by the Holy Spirit to do what I am called to do! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
