“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.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB)

The weakness of the flesh is always there.  On some days it is less apparent and we feel energetic and strong, like we could touch the sky.  On other days, it stands in our way and tries to block us at every turn, becoming a weight on our backs and pain in our bodies.

We don’t like being weak.  It makes us feel “less”.  We don’t like how it slows us down and holds us back.  “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” says the Good Book.  And yet we wish that it were not so.

From a personal perspective, I struggle with mental and physical exhaustion on a weekly basis.  I think “if I just had more time and energy, I could do so much more and be so much more!”  But I am starting to learn that this is not necessarily God’s way.  The way He works is somewhat different, and altogether better.

Hypothetically, let us say that we were granted with an endless supply of energy.  What could we accomplish and what we could we do?  Would we really be more effective and productive day to day or would we simply waste more time and make more mistakes due to our fallibility?  With unlimited energy would we depend on God more than we do now or less than we do now?

I think both you and I know the answer to that question, and so does the Lord.

Make no mistake, our weakness and fallibility is a direct result of our sinful condition and the fallen race that we belong to.  God does not intend for us to remain this way.  Even now, the process of redemption and reconciliation is being carried out in our spirits and one day soon, in our bodies.

But until that day, our weakness will remain.  And in our weakness God grants us a miracle.  God gives us His strength, His presence and His power.  Instead of struggling against our weakness and our limitations God wants us to glory in His might and in our dependence on Him.  It is when we realize that only He is pure and good and that our best efforts can never match what He offers that we finally surrender and let Him be God in our lives.

In our sin, He offers us grace.  In our weakness, He offers us strength.  And in our nothingness, he offers us everything.