Strength Made Perfect

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

God allowed a messenger of Satan to trouble Paul, for in Paul's weakness God's strength was made perfect.  The grace of God was sufficient for any situation Paul might experience.  In His wisdom, God allowed Paul to suffer - and not without divine purpose.  Through experience Paul knew by God's grace when he was weak, he was strong.  Human weakness, coupled with humble faith in Jesus Christ, promotes supernatural strength for God's glory.

What the world perceives as weakness is sometimes the embodiment of strength.  Life on earth is made to be "survival of the fittest" where the biggest, strongest, and fastest rule.  We are taught to fight for our rights, showing no signs of weakness.  With pride to fuel our attitudes and motivated by envy, humans learn how to manipulate others to gain advantage.  When faced with the wild popularity of Jesus Christ, the leading religious leaders of the Jews sought to kill Him.  They used lies, the power of politics, and an angry mob to achieve their ends.  Jesus silently walked in obedience to the will of the Father, meekly laying down His life as a sacrifice for sin.  As the Pharisees gloated and scorned Christ as He bled out on Calvary, the One who was beaten, stripped, and pierced was the picture of strength and divine power.  Given the circumstances, no one at the time could have realised that.

The priests and Pharisees believed they had triumphed.  Satan too thought the power of the grave was enough to overcome Jesus, the Lamb of God.  Three days after being crucified, Jesus Christ changed everything when He rose from the dead.  The Lamb had risen; the Lion of the Tribe of Judah had triumphed after all!  Not only is God's strength made perfect through weakness, but often what appears weak to the world is a demonstration of divine strength.  Though it may marvel, the world cannot understand.  There is none stronger than God, revealed in the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  When a person is born again through repentance and faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and bears fruit.  Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."  If a poll was taken of the best character attributes to succeed in a profession or business, I suspect not one of these fruits would appear in the top 10.  Do loving or gentle lawyers make the cut primarily for their love or gentleness?  Are construction workers filled with joy or peace the ones promoted?  Are musicians chosen for gigs because of their patience or self-control?

The fruit of the Spirit to the world on the surface appears weak, even pathetic.  But it is through the leading of the Holy Spirit real strength is demonstrated.  True strength comes from God.  Through faith in Him our weakness gives release to strength made perfect.  May the power of Christ rest upon us!