Humility

Humility

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV

When I encounter problems and difficulties in my life, too often my initial approach is to work hard at being strong. I like to see myself as a person who is resilient physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But I have discovered that even the best of my strength is no match for many of the challenges of my life here on earth.

I’m also tempted to focus on myself when I’m in a crisis. I feel sorry for myself, spend time thinking about myself, and try to protect myself. But when I spend great amounts of time thinking about myself and not a lot of time thinking about God, I’m in trouble.

The apostle Paul is a great example to me of a humble person. God was able to use Paul tremendously to further his kingdom, and he didn’t do it because Paul was strong. God told Paul in the verse above, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Hebrews 11 reminds us of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and the prophets, who because of their faith saw their weakness turned into strength (see verse 32). God can use us when we realize we’re not strong on our own and admit our weakness before him. We ask him to take our frail offerings and use them to increase his kingdom, not ours.

Father,

The message we get in our culture today is, “Be strong!” But you tell us that we’re wise to admit our weakness, run to you, and wait to see your power and strength worked out in our frail beings. May our children see your strength because they see us turning to you in times of need. Amen.