The Paradox of Weakness

The Paradox of Weakness
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
“And He 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.”

Sometimes, the most significant answer to prayer is not when God miraculously intervenes but when God remains unmoved.  In verse 7, Paul described his urgent and passionate prayer for God to deliver him from his “thorn in the flesh.”  Commentators have widely speculated upon what the thorn was.  Some suggest it was a spiritual battle.  Others suggest it was a physical problem.  But in the end Paul does not tell us what specifically it was.  However, there is a possible hint in verses 9-10.  Paul mentions how he will boast about his weakness.  In his letters to the church at Corinth, Paul provides insight into his inward struggles, which he does not describe in his other epistles.  In 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, he describes his fear and apprehension when he arrived in Corinth.  His fear was so great and paralyzing that Jesus Himself appeared to Paul to encourage and strengthen him (Acts 18:10-11).  In 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul describes how he despaired of life because of his persecution.  He further describes the struggles he faced in 4:7-10.  In 7:5-7, Paul describes God as the one who comforts the depressed and then mentions that God comforted him, implying that Paul was struggling with depression and discouragement.  He describes the intensity of his persecution and struggles in 11:22-29 which not only included the external threats to his life but also the inward pressures he felt for the church.

Consequently, his thorn in the flesh may have been physical limitations, emotional discouragement, spiritual battles with sin temptation, or, more likely, a combination of all of them.   Paul saw all these things as a hindrance and an attack from Satan to undermine his ministry, and so he prayed fervently that God would deliver him from these pressures.  All of us face life struggles that seem to be an attack upon our well-being and effectiveness in serving Christ and living for him. We see the adversities we face (from cancer to discouragement) to be a proverbial weight around our necks to pull us down and hinder us.

However, in Paul’s struggle with his “thorn in the flesh,” Paul discovered an even greater truth.  Rather than his struggle (whether it was spiritual, emotional, or physical) being a hindrance, it was a benefit.  He realized that what he initially believed to be a weakness that undermined his ministry was a benefit, for it became his teacher to instruct him that ministry is most effective when we minister from the context of our weakness and frailty rather than our strength.  Rather than being an albatross around his neck, it reminded him that life and ministry are not lived in the realm of our power but within the realm of Christ’s power working in us.  When we realize that we have nothing to offer God, we begin to realize how much God can do through us.  God works most powerfully through people who are the least likely.  Do you feel inadequate in ministry?  Do you struggle with discouragement because nothing seems to be succeeding?  Do you get discouraged because others seem more successful?  If so, you are in the perfect place for God to do something significant through you.  We are most adequate for ministry when we realize how inadequate we are, for it is then that God demonstrates His power through us so that, in the end, people do not see us; they see Christ working through us.  It is then that people’s faith does not rest upon men but upon God (1 Corinthians 2:5).  Therein lies the paradox: When we are at our weakest and feeling most inadequate is when we are at our strongest and most usable by God, for then we are no longer relying upon our strength upon God’s.