“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV).
This scripture is challenging for me. To say I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities would be a stretch. These are all things I would like to avoid at all costs. Looking back over the years of my life, I can see a pattern: I have run from discomfort, confrontation, conflict, weakness, and even loneliness. Being content during the long season of the worldwide pandemic was not something I willingly embraced. However, Paul tells us in this verse that he has learned to be content with hardships and painful circumstances because he has discovered the depth and richness they offer, which ultimately leads to strength.
I would love for God to grant me strength without the need for hardships or trials—strength without facing my fears or dealing with conflict—, but that hasn’t been my experience, and I’m guessing it hasn’t been yours either. Paul is affirming a truth I know in my heart: God uses inevitable hardships, weaknesses, and trials to reveal His power and presence in my life. In my very lowest moments, He has revealed Himself in ways I never imagined. It is during those dark nights of the soul, when all hope seems to slip away like vapor, that God has been there with me in the ashes.
During such moments, the intimacy with God is almost indescribable. He has met me in my worst and weakest moments and shown me that He is enough. If I never have another prayer answered for the rest of my life, He is still enough. His strength is sufficient; His power is enough; His very presence and Spirit within me is enough. No mountaintop experience has ever provided that level of assurance in my life. Don’t get me wrong; I love the mountaintops and could happily live there. But if that’s what I strive for, I will never fully know my Savior’s strength and power. I will never fully understand His love for me and my ultimate need for complete dependence on Him. Living on the mountaintop can become so comfortable that I risk losing my dependence on God.
It is in the ashes of life, when hope seems lost, that He has become my strength. In my weakness, I am transformed and refined to be more like Him. In my weakest moments, the longing for heaven becomes more real, and I detach a little more from the comforts of this world. In this place of surrender, I find my Savior stepping in to exchange my weakness for His strength. Thank you, Jesus!
Let’s Prayer:
Lord, I come before You today with all my shortcomings and weaknesses, as well as the circumstances in my life that bring me to my knees. I acknowledge that I am weak, but You are strong. Today, I choose to embrace my weaknesses and hardships and exchange them for Your strength. I humbly ask You to help me find contentment in my life and allow You to produce good fruit in and through me as I navigate hardships and calamities. Thank you for meeting me in my time of need and giving me what I don’t deserve. Amen!
