In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Apostle Paul makes an interesting statement, he says, “…when I am weak, then am I strong.” That would seem to be a contradiction, in and of itself, but I think if we spend a little time with it, we can understand what he meant by that.
There is also a passage in Hebrews in the faith chapter that talks in general terms about the heroes of the Old Testament, that they, through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:” It goes on from there, but what I want to bring out is that in the middle of that it says “…out of weakness were made strong…” So, apparently, the passage in 2 Corinthians is not an isolated incident, or accident, this is a concept that we might do well to get familiar with.
In John 3:30, John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John was, of course, talking about the fact that the purpose of his ministry was to prepare the way for Christ’s ministry, and now that Jesus was beginning his ministry, John’s ministry, of necessity, must decrease. John may very well have known that he didn’t have long to live. I don’t think that John was overly concerned about that, he knew that he had done what God wanted him to do, and he was prepared to go on to his reward. I think sometimes that we get caught up in thinking about what we think is important for us to do, instead of doing what God would have us to do. If we get too strong in our strength, we can miss the will of God. We need to be strong in God, so that when he works through us, it is clear that he is the one doing the work. In Philippians 4:13, it says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
If we examine the context of the passage in 2 Corinthians, Paul is discussing some of the things that God had allowed him to see and do. He goes on to say that he had a problem. He doesn’t go into detail about what his problem was; only that it bothered him, and he indicates that he felt he could be more effective if God would deliver him from it. He prayed about it three times, and then God told him that His strength is made perfect in weakness.
I have posted before about abiding in the vine, that when growing grapes, the tree really only provides support for the vine. The vine bears the grapes, and the vine, really does the work. We have been commanded to bring forth fruit, and yet, Jesus tells us that He is the vine, and that we are the branches. We aren’t growing the fruit; we’re only providing a vessel through which Christ can work, to bring forth fruit. Jesus even says that without Him, we can do nothing.
There is a song that they have been playing on the radio a lot lately, and one of the lines in the song is, “I’m so thankful that I’m incapable of doing any good on my own.” I am honest enough to admit that I have a hard time manufacturing any real gratitude over my inability to do any good. I am extremely grateful to understand that I am incapable of doing anything worthwhile on my own. Without God’s help, the best I can do is make a mess. Now I can make a pretty darn good mess, but, let’s face it, it’s still a mess. It might be good as messes go, but that’s really not very good.
The bottom line is, our strength, like our righteousness, really doesn’t amount to anything in the long run. God’s strength, through us, can do anything.
There is also a passage in Hebrews in the faith chapter that talks in general terms about the heroes of the Old Testament, that they, through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:” It goes on from there, but what I want to bring out is that in the middle of that it says “…out of weakness were made strong…” So, apparently, the passage in 2 Corinthians is not an isolated incident, or accident, this is a concept that we might do well to get familiar with.
In John 3:30, John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John was, of course, talking about the fact that the purpose of his ministry was to prepare the way for Christ’s ministry, and now that Jesus was beginning his ministry, John’s ministry, of necessity, must decrease. John may very well have known that he didn’t have long to live. I don’t think that John was overly concerned about that, he knew that he had done what God wanted him to do, and he was prepared to go on to his reward. I think sometimes that we get caught up in thinking about what we think is important for us to do, instead of doing what God would have us to do. If we get too strong in our strength, we can miss the will of God. We need to be strong in God, so that when he works through us, it is clear that he is the one doing the work. In Philippians 4:13, it says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
If we examine the context of the passage in 2 Corinthians, Paul is discussing some of the things that God had allowed him to see and do. He goes on to say that he had a problem. He doesn’t go into detail about what his problem was; only that it bothered him, and he indicates that he felt he could be more effective if God would deliver him from it. He prayed about it three times, and then God told him that His strength is made perfect in weakness.
I have posted before about abiding in the vine, that when growing grapes, the tree really only provides support for the vine. The vine bears the grapes, and the vine, really does the work. We have been commanded to bring forth fruit, and yet, Jesus tells us that He is the vine, and that we are the branches. We aren’t growing the fruit; we’re only providing a vessel through which Christ can work, to bring forth fruit. Jesus even says that without Him, we can do nothing.
There is a song that they have been playing on the radio a lot lately, and one of the lines in the song is, “I’m so thankful that I’m incapable of doing any good on my own.” I am honest enough to admit that I have a hard time manufacturing any real gratitude over my inability to do any good. I am extremely grateful to understand that I am incapable of doing anything worthwhile on my own. Without God’s help, the best I can do is make a mess. Now I can make a pretty darn good mess, but, let’s face it, it’s still a mess. It might be good as messes go, but that’s really not very good.
The bottom line is, our strength, like our righteousness, really doesn’t amount to anything in the long run. God’s strength, through us, can do anything.
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