“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.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I’m just going to be honest, and I suspect many will agree, but I never want to show my own weaknesses let alone boast about it. It seems more likely to me that in a time of weakness we want to just fade away into the corners of our mind; find a way to compartmentalize the situation; and try our best to move on. But here in today’s verse we read about the great missionary to the gentiles, the Apostle Paul, and how he didn’t hide his weakness away as some strange form of shame. No he lifts it up to the Heavenly Father whose grace is sufficient. Why you may ask? Because through prayer Paul heard from the Lord saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” You see, if we were perfect we would be like God. We know this isn’t true, yet we still feel shamed when our weaknesses are highlighted. But God looks at our short comings and reassures us that in our times of weakness is where His strength can be found. Our weakness, our falls, and our sin are the very reasons that God sent His Son to be crucified. God’s power, through His own grace and forbearance, is most observable when we are at the lowest valleys of our lives. Plenty of people pay no attention to a lighthouse during good weather. But during a bad storm, every captain will let off a sigh of relief when they see that bright light leading them back to shore. Likewise, the storms in our lives require a beacon too. Remember, Peter got out of the boat but started to drown as soon as the waves came. And it was in his weakness, that the hand of Jesus saved him.