Winter Fire – Mighty God - Wednesday
Today’s Verse
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ 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 weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (NIV)
Although many people in the Bible experience great suffering, two stand out to me: Job and Paul. If you haven’t read the book of Job or heard teachings on it in a while, here’s the gist: Job suffers. A lot. His children die, he gets sick, and everything seems to fall apart around him. He had had a lot of wealth, then suddenly everything was taken away. And yet, Job does not lose faith in God. “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted,” Job declares in chapter 42 verse 2. Job knew something about God that many of us struggle to remember in full: We have a mighty God who is unfailing and always consistent in character. By the end, God blesses Job with more than he had had in the beginning and his life story stands as an example of concentrated suffering and dependence on God.
Much later in Scripture, we are introduced to Saul, who later changes names to Paul. Again, Paul had a lot he could boast about (see Philippians 3:4-6) but he chose instead to turn his life over to Jesus and spend his efforts sharing the Gospel. In his lifetime, Paul was beaten, stoned, arrested, and more (see 2 Corinthians 11). And yet, he penned these words: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ 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 weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV).
See, Jesus came and died on the cross for our sins, in our place. Really, if God didn’t want to, He could have looked at the gaping divide (caused by sin) between Himself and humanity and decided that that was that, He could just create someone else, etc. But that’s not what happened; that’s not the message of the Gospel. Instead, God chose a plan of redemption: He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross in our stead. Jesus stepped into our sin, our pain, our suffering. What a gift!
REFLECTION
How has God redeemed your life? Reflect on God’s grace and ask Him to use His mighty power in your weakness.
