Good News: Encouragement for a World in CrisisSample

God Strengthens Us

The strength we possess as humans is limited. No matter how many self-help ideas we implement or positive statements we proclaim, our strength will only take us so far. That may discourage some, but hopefully, the truth we read from God’s Word will deposit hope in us instead.

In 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul was sharing about a “thorn in his flesh” that continued to “torment” him. He actually pleaded and begged God to remove it. And each time God told him, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

Think about that for a minute. God used this man to  influence the early Church and take the gospel to numerous countries. And in his moment of weakness, he begs God to help him, and God basically says no. But God doesn’t stop there. God tells Paul that it’s when he’s weak that the perfect power of God is working best. Imagine that! We need to be weak to see God’s power work best. While we see weakness as a barrier, God is using it to uphold us. Our strength as humans may come to a certain level, but with God’s strength boosting us up, there is nothing we can’t endure!

We’re all either in a challenging season or will be in one soon. Life can either bring it gently, or it can hit like an unexpected tsunami. Regardless of how we enter into hard times, we’ll have to learn how to walk through them. We have to rely on God’s help, because what we possess on our own just isn’t sufficient. We need God’s strength.

So, when we’re in a trial where we have our own “thorn in the flesh,” we can derive power by admitting we can’t do it on our own and calling out to God. As we navigate the fiery trials in our lives, it’s an opportunity for our faith to be proven genuine. It’s a chance for God’s strength to strengthen us so that we will be “perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:4). 

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