Friday, September 11, 2015

I DELIGHT IN DIFFICULTIES


“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” . . . 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 Corinthians 12: 9a-10 (NIV)

Over the past few months, frustrations related to health and medical issues, anxieties about my volunteer work and fears about the future began to mount. I felt like I was in the midst of a spiritual battle because the onslaught from the enemy seemed unrelenting.

Then, early one morning during my Bible study time, it dawned on me:  I was trying to do what only God can do. A quick word search under “strength” yielded the necessary ammunition for the fight ahead.

What was missing in facing those difficulties was my reliance on God’s strength. First Corinthians 1:25b tells us, “the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” God “gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak . . . those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:29, 31a).

The renewal of our strength to deal with life’s challenges is based upon our hope in the Lord. When our hope is placed in God, rather than in people or in this fallen world, we are made strong.

Paul pleaded with the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). Paul helps us understand that when we are weak, we are made strong by the power of God.    

Praise to You, Father! The answers to the challenges we face in our lives are found in You and in Your Word.

© 2015 Diane E. Hussey

No comments: