“But [Jesus] 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (II Corinthians 12:9).
Sometimes, it feels like you just don’t have enough. There are more commitments in your family schedule than you have cars and drivers. You’re hosting your family for Thanksgiving this year. Christmas is looming. It gets dark by 1:30 in the afternoon (more or less), only emphasizing the fact there are not enough hours in the day, nor is there enough of you to go around.
But when it comes to your spiritual life, it’s much worse, I’m afraid. St. Paul describes us as dead in our sins (Ephesians 2), enemies of God (Romans 5), and unrighteous (Romans 3). Dead men can’t do anything for themselves, God is a powerful enemy to have, and we absolutely need righteousness to get into heaven. Lord, to whom shall we go?
The Apostle Paul, of all people, felt the weight of his sins. He called himself the chief of sinners (I Timothy 1), both because he knew the law better than anyone (being a Pharisee himself!) and because he knew that he had participated in the persecution of Christians. He knew the thorn in his flesh (which he complained to God about in this chapter of II Corinthians), was well deserved.
But this did not stop him from pleading to God for help. God helped Paul by helping him to realize that the grace of God, which is made most powerful in weakness, is our greatest strength. This may seem counter intuitive, but this weakness that perfects God’s power is not our weakness, but the weakness of the crucified Jesus. There, bleeding and gasping for breath, He is ruling as the King (Matthew 27:37). There, He is conquering our foes and washing us in the blood and water that flowed from His veins. There, He becomes sin, that we would become the righteousness of God. There, He brings the dead to life and reconciles us to the Father. This, dear friends in Christ, is the power that closes hell forever and opens heaven.
Let us pray: O Jesus, be our strength, even as ours fails. Amen.
Written by: Pastor Jordan McKinley
