When I Am Weak, I Am Strong

Q: What does the Bible say about being weak and strong?

The Bible teaches that in our weakness, God's strength is made perfect. In 2 Corinthians 12:10, the Apostle Paul states, 'When I am weak, then am I strong.' This paradox highlights the truth that our human frailties create an opportunity for God's divine strength to be fully displayed in our lives. Paul speaks of his own experiences of suffering, weaknesses, and trials, showing that it is in recognizing our limitations that we can fully rely on God's grace and power. This theme is consistent throughout scripture, emphasizing that our weaknesses are not impediments but gateways to experiencing God's sufficiency and strength in every trial.

Q: How do we know God's grace is sufficient for us?

God's grace is declared sufficient in our weaknesses, demonstrating His power in our lives. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God tells Paul, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' This assurance came to Paul during his struggles, revealing a profound truth for all believers: when we encounter trials and recognize our inadequacies, we see God's grace at work. It is through our limits and failures that God's infinite strength and provision shine forth. The more we understand our need for grace, the more we appreciate and experience the depth of God's love and sufficiency in our lives.

Q: Why is acknowledging our weakness important for Christians?

Acknowledging weakness allows Christians to rely on God's strength and grace. In the Christian faith, acknowledging our weakness is essential as it positions us to depend on God's strength rather than our own. Paul exemplifies this in 2 Corinthians 12, where he emphasizes his vulnerabilities and how they lead him to trust more deeply in God's grace. This recognition fosters humility and an understanding that we cannot achieve righteousness or strength through our efforts. Instead, it is in admitting our limitations that we open ourselves to God's transformative power and the fulfillment of His purposes in and through us.

2 Corinthians 12, Paul says in
verse 10, Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ's sake. When I am weak, then am I strong. What does that mean? When I am
weak, I am strong. Well, Apostle Paul had many enemies. I don't know why, but I know
he did. He had many enemies outside the
church, and unfortunately, he had many enemies within the churches. And some of these men who did
not like Paul were men who knew Christ. If you'll turn to Philippians
chapter 1, you'll read about them. Philippians
1.14, there's some men who knew Christ, who preached the gospel,
who did not like the Apostle Paul. He said in Philippians
1.14, and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds,
by my sufferings He was in prison when he wrote this, bonds, fetters,
chains. And my chains and fetters and
suffering has given them incentive. I'm much more bold to speak the
word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even
of envy and strife. They envy me. They're men of
strife. discord, division. Others of
good will. One preached Christ of contention,
not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds, to hurt
me more, he said. But the other, they preached
Christ of love, knowing that I'm set for the defense of the
gospel. They're my friends, enemies and friends, brethren in the
Lord. Some preach Christ of contention and envy and strife, some of
goodwill, some of love. Verse 18, what then, notwithstanding
every way, whether in pretense or whether in truth, whether
in envy or strife, whether in love or hoping to add affliction
to my bond, Christ is preached. That's one thing, whether they
have the right attitude preaching Christ or not, they're preaching
Christ. And I rejoice. I rejoice. Yay. And I will rejoice. Let's adopt that attitude. Folks
don't like us, whatever the reason, I don't know. But if they'll preach Christ,
we'll rejoice. No matter the spirit in which
they're preaching. But we'll still rejoice. But there are
some false preachers too. Turn back to the text, 2 Corinthians
12. There were some false preachers
who were enemies of Paul, and they tried to convince people
that Paul was not an apostle, that he was not a servant of
the Lord, and that folks shouldn't hear him. Folks shouldn't listen
to him. Folks shouldn't believe him.
They wanted to put Paul out of business. They wanted to put
Paul out of the pulpit. They said he's not to be listened
to, he's not to be followed. So here, this is what led up
to our text. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 10
and 11, the Apostle Paul vindicates himself. He does something that he doesn't
like to do. He does something that he prefers
not to do, that he calls foolish. He said, and I shouldn't even
have to do this. You ought to do it for me, he
said. Isn't that what he said to those folks? You ought to
defend my ministry. I shouldn't have to do it. You are my witnesses in the Lord.
You are my epistles read of all men. He said, you heard me preach
the gospel and God revealed it to you and saved you. You're
the one that ought to defend me. I shouldn't have to defend
myself. when these false preachers attacked Paul and tried to put
him out of the ministry and said he shouldn't be followed and
shouldn't be heard. And he said, I shouldn't have
to defend myself. You ought to do it. But he said,
I have to do it. And so in chapter 10, look at
verse 7 and 8. Chapter 10, 2 Corinthians 10,
verse 7. Do you look on things after the
outward appearance? If any man trusts to himself
that he is Christ, he belongs to Christ, he is Christ's servant,
let him of himself think this again, that as he is Christ,
so also am I. He is the servant of Christ because
I am too. Let him think that over. Verse
8, for though I should boast somewhat more of our authority,
God gave me the authority which the Lord has given us for edification,
not for destruction. That's not why God called us
to preach, to tear down his people and destroy them. He called us
to build them up. He gave me my authority, he said,
for edification, not for destruction. not to sow division and discord. That's not why God put us in
the ministry, to blow out everybody's candle so ours will shine a little
brighter. It won't work. God didn't give
us the authority to do that, to tear down, to destroy. He
gave us this authority for edification. You belong to Christ? He said,
I do too. You're his minister? I am too. And then in verse In
chapter 11, verse 5, he spends his whole 10 and 11 defending
his ministry. See, verse 1 of chapter 11, word
to God, you could bear with me a little in my folly, indeed
bear with me in my foolishness. This is foolish, he said. I shouldn't
be doing this, shouldn't have to do it, but he had to. Verse
5, I suppose, for I suppose, I'm not a wit behind the cheapest
apostle. Though I be rude in speech, yet
not in knowledge, but we have been thoroughly made manifest
among you in all things. You are our proof. God's blessed
the ministry, he said, that he gave to me. That's evidence. It's been manifest among you.
Look at chapter 11, verse 22. Chapter 11, verse 22, these men,
he says that are critical of me and hurtful and trying to
put me out of the ministry. Are they Hebrews? I am too. Are
they Israelites? I am too. Are they the seed of
Abraham? I am too, he says. Are they ministers
of Christ? I speak as a fool. You know,
he said this over and over again, my folly. This shouldn't be.
It shouldn't be, it shouldn't have to be. I speak as a fool. Are there ministers of Christ?
I am more. In labors, more abundant, I've
labored more than any of them. Yet not I, but Christ in me.
In stripes, above measure, I've suffered more than any of them.
In prison, a whole lot more frequently. In death often of the Jews, five
times I received forty stripes, save one. Twice I was beaten
with rods. Once I was stoned. Twice, thrice
I suffered shipwreck." And all these things. Verse 28,
"...besides those things of the without, there cometh upon me
daily the care of all the churches." And then in chapter 12, He does something else. Now,
you'll understand if you read 2 Corinthians 10 and 11 and 12,
Paul the Apostle is defending his ministry, his call to the
ministry, the fact that God is. And he said in chapter 12, he
takes notice of a most unusual experience, a most remarkable
experience with which God favored him. Now verse 1, he said, it
is not expedient for me doubtless to glory, this is not comely,
this is not comely, this is not anything to be gained by human
boasting. When we boast of our works and
of our gifts and of our labors in the kingdom of God, it's not
expedient. And Paul wouldn't be doing it,
except for the good of the church. That's why he's doing it. for
the glory of God and the good of the church, and for the encouragement
of true brethren who have a sincere motive. He's trying to encourage
them. But he said, verse 1, I'm going
to come to visions and revelations of the Lord. Now, having spoken
of his suffering for Christ And the gospel, he said, I'm going
to tell you, I'm going to tell you something that I haven't
told you before. I'm going to come to actual visions and revelations
of the Lord. You see, you go back over his
life, his conversion was a heavenly vision. Christ appeared to him,
his conversion. And then secondly, a man of Macedonia
appeared to him one time. Remember when he said, come over
and help us? That's a vision. And then when the Lord, when
he was about to leave Corinth, the Lord appeared to him and
said, stay in Corinth, I have much people there. That was a
vision. And then when he was on board that ship, it was about
to go down, the angel of the Lord stood by me this night,
he said. That's a vision. But here he
said, verse 2, now he speaks in the third person, talking
about himself. He's a very humble man, and this
has to be done. So he speaks in the third person.
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago. Now whether
in the body I don't know or whether out of the body I don't know.
God knows, but such a one was caught up to the third heaven. The third heaven. When you talk
about the third heaven, the heaven as we see it right here. And
then the second heaven is beyond all the galaxies or whatever.
But the third heaven is the throne of God, the presence of God. And he said, this one, I don't
know whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don't know
what, but he was actually taken up into heaven. And I knew such
a man, verse 3, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot
tell. He was called up into paradise. Our Lord said to the thief on
the cross, today you'll be with me in paradise. That's where
Paul went. And he heard unspeakable words,
which is not possible for a man to utter. What I heard, he didn't
say anything about what he saw, he talked about what he heard. The choirs of heaven or the song
of heaven, or the praise of heaven, or the atmosphere of heaven,
he said, what I heard, it is absolutely impossible for me
to put in human words. Can't do it. Now, of such a one, I will glory. I will glory. I will, what he's
saying here is, I'll glory in what God's done for me. Our glory
in what God's done for us. Our glory in his love for me. Our glory in his grace to me. Our glory in his mercy to the
chief of centers. I will not deny the fact that
he lifted me out of the miry clay. God did it himself. He
singled me out and elected me and chose me to show mercy to
me. He lifted me out. of the miry
clay. He settled my feet in the straight
and narrow way. He lifted me up to a heavenly
place, and he flooded my soul each day with his grace, as such
a one will I glory. I'll glory in the cross of Christ
by which the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
I will glory in his grace. I will glory. I will boast. I'll Yet, of myself, of myself, I
will not glory. I will not glory in this flesh.
I will not glory in myself. I will not glory in my nature.
I will not glory but in my infirmities. I'll glory in my weakness, because
when I'm weak, then am I strong. Hold that and turn to 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, I won't glory in myself, but
I'll glory in what God did for me, and I'll glory in the fact
that I am an object of his grace. I'll glory in that fact. Our
glory and my infirmities. In 1 Corinthians 1 verse 26,
you sing your calling, brethren. How that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise. Paul says, I'm one of those foolish. Our glory and my foolishness. Our glory and my infirmities.
I'm just glad that I know how foolish I am. And not only that, but he said
he's chosen the weak things of the world. I'll glory in that.
I'm one of those that God chose those weak things of the world
to confound the things which are mine. And base! I'll glory
in that fact that I am base. And things which are despised,
I'll glory in that. I want to be despised for Christ's
sake. And the things which are not.
You're nothing, Paul. All right. I'm glad I'm nothing,
because he says nothing. See what he's saying? Go back
to the text now. I'm not going to glory in myself.
I'm not going to glory in myself. I have nothing. If I have any
grace, God gave it to me. If I have any gifts, God gave
it to me. If I have any knowledge, God gave it to me. If I have
anything, it's by the grace of God I am what I am. I labor more
abundantly than all of you, yet not I, but the grace of God in
me. And I won't glory in myself, but I will glory in my infirmities.
I'll glory in my baseness and nothingness. I'll glory in that,
because that's the kind of fellow God saves. If you're sitting
here this morning and you're overwhelmed by a sense of your
sins and your unworthiness, be glad of it. Isn't that better
than being lifted up in pride and being rejected of God? Be glad of it. I won't glory
in myself, but I will glory in my infirmities. Now read on.
For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool.
I would desire to glory in my accomplishments. A man goes somewhere,
and God's pleased to use him to be a blessing to people. There's
a desire there to be lifted up. He said, I'm not going to be
a fool, though. I'm not going to be a fool. For
I will say the truth, but now I forbear, lest any man should
think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he
heareth of me, and lest I should be exalted above measure. And
the temptation's always there, let's be honest. That song Mike just sang. Let's get off me and use you
a little bit, Mike. You made my day. That song was
beautiful. Now, he has a gift. God gave it to him. He got up
there and sang. Selected the right song. He was a blessing
to everybody here. He's human. I am, you are, everybody
else. There's that tendency and that
desire and that, I did well. That's just us. And that's what
Paul is saying here. I would desire the glory, but
I'm not going to be a fool. It's like when you help someone
along the way. If you have, God's blessed you
with whatever you have, and here's a brother that's down and out,
and you give to him, and you buy him a suit, and you put him
on his feet and get him a job, and you know there's a There's
a little tendency to say, I did good. That was pretty good. Isn't that so? That it's just
there. Paul said, I desire the glory,
but I'm not going to be a fool. But I will tell you the truth.
God had to work on me to keep me from glory. Now, listen to
what God did to him. And lest I should be exalted
above measure through the abundance of these revelations and these
gifts, God gave me a thorn in the flesh. I am weak, he's going
to show me how weak I am. I am base, he's going to show
me just how base I am. I am nothing, he's going to show
me what a nothing I am. I am despised and I got a right
to be despised. That's what God's going to show
him. He gave me a thorn in the flesh. The messenger of Satan. What was it? Boy, they've been
arguing this for 6,000 years, 2,000 years. Some say it was
poor eyesight. Some say it was a despicable
temper. Some say it was just they kept
trying to figure out. Nobody knows. But we do know
this, that the Apostle Paul, who was so gifted and so blessed,
and so used of God. Lest he be proud and lifted up,
God let Satan literally overwhelm him with a thorn in the flesh
is what it was in, it was in the flesh. It didn't stop him
from praying, it didn't stop him from preaching, it didn't
stop him from witnessing, it didn't stop him from loving,
it didn't stop him from walking with God. It was his flesh that
that thorn in the flesh, whatever it was. And verse 8, for this
thing I besought the Lord three times that he might take it away.
Take away this whatever it was. Take away this tenancy to flesh. Take away this thoughts or imagination
or desire or lust or weakness or whatever it is. And God said
to me, My grace is sufficient for you,
for my strength, my glory, my power is fully made perfect and
revealed and glorified in your weakness. God says the more that
you can realize and demonstrate and understand just what you
are the more I'll be lifted up in my grace to you." Isn't that
what he's saying? My strength is made perfect in
your weakness, in your frailty, in your infirmities, in your
flesh. Most gladly therefore, most gladly
therefore, then I will glory in my infirmities. If it's going
to give God the glory, then I'll glory in it. If realizing my
weakness and my frailty and my dumbness and infirmities and
ignorance, and if I can get up in front of the people and literally
strike out, if it will glorify God, then I'll glory in it. I'll
glory in it. I'll thank God for it. That's
what he's saying. I'll say that's what ought to have been done.
I mess up. Just mess up. But in messing
up, I realize all the spotlight goes off me and goes on him,
then that's what I ought to have done, I ought to have messed
up. You understand what I'm saying? That's what Paul said. That's
the reason I glory in failure. That's the reason I glory in
the thorn in the flesh. That's the reason I glory in
my infirmities, because it shuts my mouth and turns my, turns
the spotlight on him and his goodness to such a worm. I gloat
in the fact I'm a worm because God saves worms. That's what
he's talking about. Therefore, verse 10, therefore,
I will take pleasure in my weaknesses, in my infirmities. I'll take
pleasure in insults and reproaches. I'll take pleasure in necessities. I can't meet my needs. I'm dependent
on him. I'll take closure in persecution.
That's all right. In distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I'm weak, then I'm strong. Now what does that mean there?
Well, there's a sense, let me give you this, in which this
is not applicable. There's some areas when I'm weak,
I'm not strong. No, we can't misuse this. We
can't excuse anything. Weakness in the doctrine of Christ
can't make me strong. Isn't that right? Weakness in the doctrine of Christ
won't make me strong. And people say, well, I don't
know anything about the Bible. I love Jesus. You better find
out something about the Bible. Now, weakness in doctrine does
not make you strong. And preachers, that's the reason
Paul said, I kept back nothing profitable unto you. I have not
shunned or declared unto you all the counsel of God. We need
to study to show ourselves approved unto God of workmen that need
not be ashamed. I'll tell you something else.
Weakness in prayer is not going to make me strong. If I neglect
prayer and devotion, I'm not going to be strengthened by it,
I'm going to be weakened by it. Isn't that right, John? It won't
make you strong to neglect the prayer clause. And I tell you,
weakness in study and weakness in preparation. These, us fellows
that preach and y'all that teach and other places, somebody says,
well, I'm just going to depend on inspiration. Let me tell you
something. Inspiration is about 80% perspiration and preparation. That's right. And that's not
going to make me strong. I'm not going to, if I'm lazy
out yonder and get up here, God's not going to make me strong.
He's not going to make me strong. And weakness in faith is not
going to make me strong. Abraham was strong in faith,
giving glory to God. That's not going to make me strong.
And weakness in love for Christ is not going to make me strong.
No, weakness in love for others is not going to make me strong. I ran into a fellow one time
that's got a reputation for being hard to get along with. He professes to be a believer,
a Christian, and he excuses it with, well, that's just the way
I am. Well, change. That's not going to make you
strong. Well, I'm just that way. Well, you're not going to be
strong by being that way. Weakness in love for others,
weakness in character and conduct are not going to make you strong.
and weakness and faithfulness. What is the application? All
right, let me give it to you. Here's what Paul said. When I'm
weak, then I'm strong. First of all, I'm weak before
the throne of God. I'm weak. David said, when I
consider the heavens, the work of thy hands, the sun, the moon,
the stars, the things thou hast made, what is man that art mindful
of him? David went and sat before the
Lord and he said, Lord, who am I and what is my people that
we should be the recipients of such mercies? Nothing. Mephibosheth
bowed before David and he said, who am I that you should show
such mercies to such a dead dog? I tell you, before the throne
of God, before the presence of God, I am weak. aren't you? And I feel that weakness
in his awesome, awful presence. I'm weak before the law. I'm so weak before the holy law
of God that even my righteousness is a filthy rag. I can't not
keep the holy law of God. What the law could not do in
that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his only son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh. Before
the law of God, we are weak, weak, weak. And the older you
get, the weaker you get. I'm weak before the word of God.
This is a book of mysteries. I hear men seem to indicate that
the older they get, the more they know about the Bible. I
tell you, the older I get, the less I know about God's Word.
Mysteries. Christ said to his disciples,
I've got many things to say to you, you're not even able to
bear them. Paul said, I know in part, I preach in part, I
see through a glass dimly. He said if any man thinks he
knows, he doesn't know anything. The greater the circumference
of light, the more darkness it encounters. The more you learn
about God, the more you realize you don't know about God. The
more you learn about the gospel, the more you realize you don't
know about the gospel. The more you learn about the
mysteries of his kingdom, the more you realize you don't know.
The more darkness you run into. Every time you open a new door
into another room, you've got all kinds of problems. Isn't
that right? before the Word of God. I'm weak
before trials. We talk about needing trials,
and we do. We talk about trials coming from
the hand of God, and they do. We talk about trials and tribulations
working patience, and they do. We talk about trials strengthening
faith, and they do. But I don't like them. Do you? And I'll tell you one reason
I don't like them, is there's no time that my weakness shines
like it does during a trial. No time. I'm weak before the throne of
God who shall stand. I'm weak before the law of God.
I'm weak before the word of God. And I'm weak before trials. I just don't like them. Because when I face a heavy trial
and a heavy burden and a heavy disappointment, I see my nature
too badly, it comes out. Does yours? Yeah. And I don't like what I see.
I'm weak. I'm weak before trial. I'm weak before responsibility.
Lord, who is sufficient for these things? I know a lot of people that are
itching for more responsibility. Why in the name of the Lord,
I don't know why. Who is sufficient for these things?
Charles Spurgeon, I picked this up yesterday, he wrote to his
grandfather. This is what he said, telling about that letter he
wrote. He said, For many years, my preaching was exceedingly
painful to me. because of the fears which beset
me before entering the pulpit. Often my dread of entering the
pulpit and preaching the gospel and facing the people has been
so overwhelming. I wrote to my grandfather and
I told him many things that happened to me before I went in the pulpit.
I had overwhelming mental emotions. I had sickness of body. I had
pains in my stomach. I had terrible fears which gripped
my heart. And I wrote to my grandfather,
and the old gentleman wrote back and said, son, I've been preaching
60 years. I still feel the same tremblings
and the same fears every time I preach. And son, be content
to have it so. For when your emotions go away,
your strength will be gone. When you're weak, you're strong. And when you're able to preach
and think nothing of it, when you're able to teach and think
nothing of it, the people will think nothing of it. And God
will do nothing with it. Isn't that good? I'm weak before
responsibility. I'm going to keep accepting them
when he hands them out. And you are too. But that doesn't
keep us from being weak. And I'm weak before spiritual
watchfulness, aren't you? I want you to turn to Matthew
26. I want you to listen to this. Oh, how tender is our Lord. Matthew
26. I just love this because I needed
it. Maybe somebody here does. But in one of our Lord's most
trying moments, In one of his most difficult times, when he
went to the garden to pray before the cross in Matthew 26, verse
38, and here he is praying to the
Father and said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. He's speaking to the disciples
here. He said to the disciples, My soul is exceeding sorrowful
even unto death. Tarry here and watch with me.
And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed,
O Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not as I will, but as I will. And he cometh to the disciples
and found them asleep. And he said to them, What? Could
you not watch with me not even one hour? Watch and pray that
ye enter not into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing.
But what? The flesh is willing. He went away again the second
time and he prayed and said, O Father, if this cup may not
pass from me except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came
and found them asleep again. That's me. Is that you? Sometimes
when I want to pray, I just fall asleep. Sometimes when I want
to study, I get so tired. Get your Bible, get in your easy
chair, get all relaxed to spiritual watchfulness, and then you start
reading and studying. Paper falls in the floor. That's
us. But I'm glad he's the Lord. Listen.
And he left them. Their eyes were heavy. He left
them and went away again and prayed the third time, saying
the same words. Then he came to his disciples
and said, Sleep on and take your rest. It's all right. The hour has come. The Son of
Man is betrayed in the hand of sinners. It's okay. I tell you, the sooner we realize
we're people, and people are people, and they're
not going to be anything but people. That's all. I had an uncle one time who said,
folks don't expect much out of me and I don't disappoint them. And that's about right. We're
just not very alert, are we? Now, we can be alert when this
old flesh is concerned. I mean, we can stay with it.
We can watch something on television three hours and be as alert. And when we come to these spiritual
matters, we're pretty weak on it. Well, what are we going to
do? The preacher's going to get up
here and get out the whip of the law, you know, and tear and rip and
snuff. Won't do any good. When they
leave, they're still people. And he is, too. It's not going
to change one thing. And I'll tell you this, I'll
be weak in debt. People talk about how they want
to die and how they're going to die and how they're going
to do all these things. I don't know whether you will or not.
I never have been a good patient, have you? I don't like to hurt. I get contrary when I hurt, don't
you, Tom? Let's be honest. I don't like pain, don't like
suffering, don't like frailty, and I dread it. But it must come
in God's time, but I'm still weak. And I could go on, you
know, when you say stop, that's enough. It is, isn't it? But
what I want to show is we're weak. But when I'm weak, I can't stand
before the throne, but he can. When I'm weak, when I know my
weakness, when I'm fairly convinced of it, when my weakness is made
real, then I look to Christ. He can stand before God. I can't
produce a righteousness. He can. I know him so faintly,
but best God, he knows me. I can't conquer Satan, but he
can. I can't endure the trials and
suffering, but he give me grace. And when I come to the valley
of death, and I come to that cold waters of Jordan, I can't
make it through, but he'll pick me up and carry me when I'm weak. And the sooner
I come to realize it, the better off I'll be. Quit leaning on
this arm of flesh. You see, Paul says, when I'm
weak, I'm strong, because that's when I flee to Christ. Like the
coney that makes his home in the rock, little old rabbit.
What's weaker than a rabbit? I tell you, if he ever gets in
the hole in the rock, nothing can get him. And he can feel
pretty cocky. He can stick his tongue out.
He can hide in that hole in the rock and poke fun at the fox. Yes, he can. When he's weak,
he's strong. Now, if he thought he was strong,
that fox would kill him, because he'd stand out there and try
to do it himself. But he realized he's weak, and what'd he do?
He ran to the hole. When I'm weak, I'll pray. Prayer
is born of necessity. So the weaker I am, the better
off I am, because that's when I'll pray. When I'm weak, I'm
sure to care for and sympathize with others that are weak. Weakness
does not feel uncomfortable in the presence of weakness. No, it doesn't. Weakness identifies
with weakness. And I'll tell you, if I really
know I'm weak, I'll be willing to serve in the smallest capacity. Because that's really too much
for me, if I'm weak. Isn't that right? If I'm really
weak, then I'll be willing to serve in the smallest capacity,
knowing that I am weak. And then if I'm weak, really
weak and know it, then when this thing's all over, even now and
then, I'm going to give him all the glory. All the glory. I don't deserve
any of it. I know it. And how do I know
it? Because I'm weak. So here Paul,
I hope this has been a blessing to hear Paul went through all
this defending and assuring the people God He called him and
sent him, but then he stops all of it and he said, but I want
you to know this, I glory in my weakness. That's what I glory
in. Because when I am weak and know
it, and you know it, that's when I'll be strong. If God does anything
here through any of us, we'll give Him the glory because we
know who did it. We know who did it because we
couldn't do it.

When I Am Weak, I Am Strong

What does the Bible say about being weak and strong?

How do we know God's grace is sufficient for us?

Why is acknowledging our weakness important for Christians?

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When I Am Weak, I Am Strong

What does the Bible say about being weak and strong?

How do we know God's grace is sufficient for us?

Why is acknowledging our weakness important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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