Do you have “a thorn in the flesh?”  Paul confesses that he struggled with one for much of his ministry and even asked the Lord to remove it on three occasions.  God, however, in His infinite wisdom chose not to remove the “thorn” but taught the apostle a life-changing principle.  “My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is perfected in weakness.”  God wanted the great missionary to depend fully upon Him when times were tough but also when he experienced great success.  Boasting would never be part of Paul’s life or ministry because of this lesson.  While other “super apostles” boast of their great works, their large crowds, and their massive treasuries, he will only boast of the powerful work that the Almighty is doing.  Paul has learned to “delight in [his] weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in difficulties, on behalf of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  O that we could learn that lesson.  Dependence upon the Lord is a vital part of our walk with Him.  We will always struggle with our pride and with the competitive fire that God has placed in us, but when we learn that our weaknesses are just as important as our strengths, our lives will radically change.  It is in those weaknesses that God can do His greatest work in our lives for it is then that we must rely upon Him to do what we cannot.  We are so ready to lean on that which cannot hold us up – a bottle or syringe, a person, a job, or a healthy investment portfolio – while we struggle to lean upon the One who is more than strong enough to meet every need.  When will we learn the lesson that Paul had to learn?  The Scriptures say that “today is the day of salvation, now is the acceptable time” (2 Corinthians 6:2), so wake up church and see the lesson that God has for you today!

Help me, Lord, to delight in my weaknesses so that I might learn how to fully depend upon You.  Help me to stop leaning on that which cannot hold me up and lean, instead, upon You, the only One who truly can.