‘I know it is all for Christ’s good…’ 2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT
Speaking of his ‘thorn’, Paul writes: ‘Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, "My gracious favour is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses… For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT) Paul learned how to turn his weakness into a weapon by allowing it to drive him closer to God. And that’s a lesson you must learn too. The NLT Bible paraphrases Christ’s first beatitude: ‘God blesses those who are poor and realise their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.’ (Matthew 5:3) Now, you can’t just accept your character flaws and areas of defeat and say, ‘Well, I guess that’s just the way I am.’ No, you must confront each area of weakness, confess it, and ‘let Christ take over’. You will always struggle with one thing or another. Paul recognised this: ‘…But this precious treasure – this light and power that now shine within us – is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.’ (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT) Like common pottery, fragile, flawed and easily broken, God will use you as you surrender and allow Him to work through you.
SoulFood: Dan 1–2, Matt 8:10–17, Ps 81, Pr 2:11–15
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2012
