Thursday, March 21, 2019

Confusing Weakness and Strength

There is an inordinate amount of confusion in this world as to what is strength and what is weakness. Weakness is confused with strength and strength is confused with weakness. The apostle Paul had many challenges. He was strong and knew where his strength came from:
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient (be content enough) for thee: for my strength (dunamis- potential power) is made perfect (complete) in weakness(lack of strength. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities (frailty), in reproaches (insolence, insults and injury), in necessities (needs), in persecutions, in distresses (narrowness of room) for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong(capable). II Corinthians 12:8-10
Recognizing weakness in one's own life has the potential to produce true strength in an individual. It takes guts to stand up for what one learns and believes. It doesn't take adamance and loud proclamations either as we see so frequently around us.  Paul said he would rather glory in his challenges. The word 'glory' represents confidence in a godly solution. It is the word 'kauchaomai' which means 'to hold one's head up high'. It is always found in the middle voice which means the person does this for himself. One can hold his/her head up high if he/she puts confidence in God and the resurrection power of Christ.

To live in this world takes work. The hard part often is in accepting God's help. Sadly, many people accept the world's solutions rather than the word's solutions. Some don't know God, some mock, some just don't take the time to patiently wait for a solution. However, once a person sees how eager God is to help, it builds to trusting him again and again and again.

Whatever challenges arise can be dealt with in confidence when we trust God and apply his word to the situations. We just have to find out what God has to say about whatever problem arises. We can believe to get out of debt, be a blessing to others and live a free life, Whatever gets in our way can be dealt with effectively if we trust God and act. 

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