"Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong, " (II Corinthians 12:8---10).
* Since life in our fallen world inevitably brings times of hardship and difficulty, our challenge as believers is to respond in a manner pleasing to our Lord.
In his affliction mentioned here, Paul came to understand the principle of God's strength being best evidenced through our weakness. For, God doesn't want to show us strong on His behalf; He would show Himself strong on our behalf.
* Someone has said that our weaknesses can become the source of our greatest testimony to God's sufficiency. Paul's thorn in the flesh served as a basis for his declaration that God's strength is best seen against the backdrop of our weaknesses. Are we willing to be weak, to humbly submit to the Lord's dealings in order to manifest His power?
* Through a word of personal testimony, Paul teaches an important principle of paradox--- when we are weak, we are actually in a position of strength. For, when we come to an end of ourselves, the Lord shows Himself strong on our behalf. As long as we walk in prideful self-sufficiency, His Holy Spirit is quenched and grieved.
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