Backwards Thinking

“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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12.9-10

Last Sunday was my first trip to church since the birth of our daughter. It has been a challenge to get over the hump of taking our daughter to places not knowing when she will want to eat, cry, poop, and sleep. After going to church, both my wife and I realized how much we missed it. It was only about 3 weeks, but we found how absolutely necessary it was to be there.

During the service the verse above came up on the screen and really got me to thinking. I wondered how God does it. How does He completely go counter to the culture yet make so much sense. It is really backwards thinking in every human way. I want to work hard to make a good life for my family. God wants us to boast in our weakness so that Christ’s power will rest upon us. I want to hide my weaknesses so others cannot exploit them. God wants us to boast in our weakness for the sake of Christ.

So often I am taken back by a verse or two that I know I have read and seen many times. There must be something about this whole “Living Word” thing that people use to describe scripture. I am sure that many of you reading this will have had experiences reading the Bible and have something that you are familiar with absolutely jump off the page. It is usually something that causes us to notice how contrary to the norm it is. This is one of the many reasons that I love scripture.

God desires that we live a life that will show His glory not our own. 1 Peter 4.16 says, “If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” God wants the glory in our suffering. God wants the glory in our weakness. Are we willing to allow the world to see our weakness so that the strength and glory of God can be revealed or are we more willing to allow our strengths to hide the glory of God? Backwards thinking I know, but it is this type of thinking that will draw more people to Christ than anything we attempt on our own. Try to remember a time when God used your weakness for His glory.

His,

Jake