by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Acts 18:1--17; 2 Corinthians 11:22--28
We'd rather admire Paul for his strength in trials. We want
to applaud his fierce determination against vicious persecution. If the man
were alive today, he would not tolerate our congratulations. "No, no, no.
You don't understand. I'm not strong. The One who pours His power into me is strong.
My strength comes from my weakness." That's no false modesty. Paul would
tell us, "Strength comes from embracing weakness and boasting in
that." It is that kind of response that brings divine strength and allows
it to spring into action.
J. Oswald Sanders, in his book, Paul, the Leader, writes,
"We form part of a generation that worships power---military,
intellectual, economical, scientific. The concept of power is worked into the
warp and woof of our daily living. Our entire world is divided into power blocs.
Men everywhere are striving for power in various realms, often with
questionable motivation."
The celebrated Scottish preacher, James Stewart, made a
statement that is also challenging: "It is always upon human weakness and
humiliation, not human strength and confidence, that God chooses to build His
Kingdom; and that He can use us not merely in spite of our ordinariness and
helplessness and disqualifying infirmities, but precisely because of
them."
That's a thrilling discovery to make. It transforms our
mental attitude toward our circumstances.
Let's pause long enough here to consider this principle in
all seriousness. Your humiliations, your struggles, your battles, your
weaknesses, your feelings of inadequacy, your helplessness, even your so-called
"disqualifying" infirmities are precisely what make you effective. I
would go further and say they represent the stuff of greatness. Once you are
convinced of your own weakness and no longer trying to hide it, you embrace the
power of Christ. Paul modeled that trait wonderfully, once he grasped the
principle. His pride departed and in its place emerged a genuine humility that
no amount of hardship could erase.
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