Boast in your weakness...

What an odd title, right? Who would even want to boast about being weak? Well, Paul did...

2 Corinthians 12: 9,10 says, "Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 

(New Living Translation)

I love how the Amplified words it...

"But He said to me, 'My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.' Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me! So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength)."

I once heard a pastor say...

"In your area of weakness there is super-abounding grace." 

I can't remember who said it, so I'm just going to give credit to the Holy Spirit. This statement though, perfectly sums up the preceding two verses. This passage provides such a sweet picture of our Heavenly Father. In the word it says that He knows us better than we know ourselves. This proves that he knows our strengths and our weaknesses better than us. He knows what pushes us, what makes us tick, what we can and can not handle and so on. The sweet thing is... even though he knows the deep, dark crevices of our life, He doesn't just leave us there. He doesn't condemn us for the things we struggle with.

     After really meditating on this passage, I truly believe it is a beautiful thing to be in a place of weakness. A place of realizing that you can't physically do anything more through human strength. This is a beautiful thing, because we serve a God who delights in bestowing His strength on us in our weakness. He literally infuses His power, grace, favor and character into what seems to be the fragile, inadequate parts of our life. He loves us so much that He doesn't make us grovel before Him before He bestows blessings to us. His super-abounding love and grace is flooding ("to arrive in overwhelming quantities or amounts" according to Webster) into the areas that we feel we need to hide from everyone, including Him.

     So with that being said, be like Paul. Be excited in your weaknesses. Translation... Be expectant in your weakness that God is going to show up in amazing ways. Be humble enough to let Him, because He longs and desires for you to flourish, grow, thrive and prosper in the areas where you feel you lack the most.