2 Corinthians 12:10

2 Corinthians 12:10 – That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

           In this verse we are talking about all the hard things in life; weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and to sum it all up difficulties. These are all the things that we experience in life that we try to avoid. We don’t want these. In fact, if we could live life without them we would. Some are brought on by our own choices and decisions and some will come from those around us and the world itself, but one thing we can be sure of is they will come. In this world there is no way to avoid these things.

           We know we are to endure these things, because they will happen, but now it is taken a step further. Not only will we have to endure, but we ought to delight in them. I don’t know about you, but that seems like an impossible request. How can I find joy in being ridiculed and made fun of? When something goes wrong how can I be happy about it? I can see enduring and persevering, but delighting in it seems a lot to ask.

           Here’s the catch: Jesus tells us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).” So it’s about Jesus. When things are going good and we are operating in our own strengths, it is easy to become self-reliant. Even if we are not entirely on ourself, we are still not completely relying on Him. This is dangerous. All we have is from God and the moment we take our eyes off of Him we are headed for trouble.

In our weaknesses, though, we have to rely on Jesus. We know that in our own ability we would fall, so Christ is able to shine through us. That is why Paul says, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” It is not by himself, but with complete reliance on Jesus. Once we realize we can’t do it by ourselves and give it up to Him we allow Jesus to be glorified through our lives.