Outside Your Comfort Zone - The One Year Unlocking the Bible Devotional

I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, . . . for when I am weak, then I am strong.   2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I have heard many testimonies over the years in which Christians have spoken about how they used to feel weak but now they are strong. But that’s not what Paul says here. His experience of weakness is in the present tense. It’s continuing, and he’s not expecting it to change.

This seems surprising given the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit. Why would Paul say he felt weak? Was he lacking faith? Had he forgotten God was with him? Paul was certainly not inadequate or unable to handle the challenges of life. He had extraordinary courage. By any standards, Paul was one of the most remarkable people who ever lived.

The reason Paul experienced weakness was that God had given him an overwhelming task: “I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness?” (2 Corinthians 11:28-29). God had put the apostle in situations that pushed him well beyond his comfort zone. He knew what it was to feel unbearably crushed. At one point he was “overwhelmed beyond [his] ability to endure” (1:8).

Perhaps you’ve known this in your own experience. If God gives you the weight of a demanding task, there will be times when, like Paul, you may feel crushed by it, and you will begin to experience what Paul calls “weakness.”

Those who choose to live within cautiously safe limits cannot discover the strength in weakness that Paul is talking about. Nor can those who are sure and confident in their own abilities. Only when you let God take you outside your comfort zone will you begin to feel weakness.

This weakness is not something to be afraid or ashamed of. It is one of the most significant opportunities in your Christian journey. Paul says that he’s “glad” about it, because this is where Christ’s power has rested on him. It will be the same for you. Jesus did not live within cautiously safe limits. Jesus wept, and he was crucified in weakness. If you follow him, he will lead you outside your comfort zone. You will experience weakness, and Christ’s power will rest on you.

For further reading, see 2 Corinthians 12