When You Feel Weak
Power Made Perfect in Weakness
Paul asked three times for the thorn to be removed. God said no. What he said instead has carried millions of broken people through their darkest seasons.
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.2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
The thorn was not removed. Paul did not get the clean victory. He got something harder and stranger: grace that was sufficient in the middle of weakness, not after it was resolved. The power of Christ rests upon weakness the way a tent rests on its poles. The weakness is not the problem to overcome. It is the structure that the grace holds on to.
I am weak, Lord. I have tried to be strong and it has not held. Let your power rest on my weakness, not wait for my strength. That is all I have right now. Amen.
Tell one person -- even just the chat companion -- the truth: "I am weak and I cannot do this alone." Naming weakness is the first step toward the grace that meets it.