OPINION
One of the strangest statements in Paul’s letters is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where he comments about his weaknesses. He says he is so proud of his infirmities that he will gladly boast about them. I call that strange because very rarely will you find a person who thinks like that. Most people are frustrated or embarrassed by their weaknesses. And you will not find a “self-help” book that encourages you to brag about how weak you are.
Bible translators have had a field day translating Paul’s words. In one version Paul says he will “glory in his weaknesses.” In another he will “gladly boast in” them. In others he is “proud” of his weaknesses and he will “gladly brag about how weak I am.” He even “delights” in his weaknesses. I must admit it has never occurred to me to boast about how weak I am, or to delight in my weaknesses. But Paul did and I need to know why.
In searching for an answer it is helpful to observe that Paul made this statement in response to what Jesus said to him in response to Paul’s prayer request for deliverance from “a thorn in his flesh.” Jesus did not take away Paul’s thorn but said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
I doubt that Paul’s response was immediate, as it appears in his second letter to the Corinthians. But after much reflection, he tells his Corinthian friends this: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:9-10).
The word “delight” reminds me of the precious words of David in Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Paul is able to delight in his weaknesses because he is aware that such an attitude opens his life to the help, comfort and power of Christ — in which he surely delights.
We can, in the midst of our own difficulties, believe that Jesus is saying to us what he said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”
That grace is sufficient means that his grace is all I need; it is enough to meet my need.
What does the Lord mean when he says “my power is made perfect in weakness”? It means that I must give up thinking that I can handle my problems and admit my weaknesses to the Lord. Only when I am willing to acknowledge my limitations can I expect God to come to my rescue. I must step down from being CEO of my life and let the Lord take over. When I admit my vulnerability, Christ moves in, giving me the strength to handle my trials.
So my weaknesses become a pathway to the power of Christ. This led Eugene Peterson to quote Paul as saying: Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size — abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (The Message, 12:9-10)
Weakness, then, leads to strength when I embrace my limitations and allow the power of Christ to be made perfect in my trials. I give Christ the opportunity to demonstrate his strength. I love the way The Living Bible translates our Lord’s words to Paul and his response:
Each time he said, “No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities. (12:9)
Paul explains well why he boasts or brags of his weakness: “so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Once again the Bible translators find different ways to explain Paul’s words. The NLT version: “so that the power of Christ can work through me.” Another version offers this: “so the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
Here is the Good News translation: I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me.
J. B. Phillips offers yet another helpful translation of Paul’s insightful experience:
“So tremendous, however, were the revelations that God gave me that, in order to prevent my becoming absurdly conceited, I was given a physical handicap — one of Satan’s angels — to harass me and effectually stop any conceit. Three times I begged the Lord for it to leave me, but his reply has been, ‘My grace is enough for you: for where there is weakness, my power is shown the more completely.’ Therefore, I have cheerfully made up my mind to be proud of my weaknesses, because they mean a deeper experience of the power of Christ. I can even enjoy weaknesses, suffering, privations, persecutions and difficulties for Christ’s sake. For my very weakness makes me strong in him.”
So the translators tell us that Paul “enjoys” and “delights” in his weaknesses because, surrendered to the Lord, they allow him to experience “the power of Christ.” The more I explore the meaning of Paul’s words, the more I feel led to admit my own weaknesses, and somehow learn to “boast” of them so that I too may allow the power of Christ to rest on me. I am asking the Lord to lead me to the hour that I can say with Paul what Eugene Patterson has him saying in The Message:
“Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size — abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over. And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”
Yes, O Christ! Take over so your power can fall on me!
Altar Call | The weaker I am, the stronger I become
