Newsletter 7/10/2025

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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  

2 Corinthians 12:9

Our culture teaches us to rely upon ourselves. We are bred to be strong and to shun being weak. Western attitudes are very individualistic and our age is one of learning how to DIY (do it yourself) everything. We live in a society of independent thinking which reinforces a self-sufficient mantra. Power is appealing and desirable. Projecting ourselves as brave is certainly more socially acceptable than the alternative. 

And in spite of this, we are incredibly fragile. We are becoming more mentally, emotionally, and in some cases more spiritually brittle. It is thought that previous generations were more capable of dealing with adverse circumstances than the current one. The young, some would argue, were taught how to grow into adulthood at an earlier age. They were given more responsibility. They were allowed to do more in the way of exploration. There was no such thing as Helicopter Parenting. Kids were given more freedom to roam. There are well studied observations about how deficient college students are in their capacity to endure hard things. Society claims to be tough, but the evidence suggests a false claim. 

This misperception of power creeps into our Christianity too. Sometimes we mistakenly believe that being like Christ is our work to accomplish. So we are hard at work, trying to do something that will never produce the results we want. We find it difficult to admit that we struggle in our faith, to acknowledge our need for prayer, to confess that we have an addiction, to ask for help or counsel. We act strong at the wrong times. 

It is not that it is evil to be strong, to think strong, or to live strong. Strength is a virtue. It is that we find it most difficult to be strong enough to admit when we are weak. And maybe it is just me. I have pushed myself through pain. I have ignored symptoms of sickness. I have dealt with certain challenges alone. I hardly ever ask for help. And it is possible that this failure on my part is partially due to my fear of appearing soft or some childhood issue that prevents me from showing any form of indisposition. 

Paul cried out to God for help with some unnamed concern. The scripture says he asked three times for relief, but God declined the request. The Lord responded that His own power was made perfect, or was revealed in its completeness, when Paul was weak, not when he was strong. When Paul felt he was in control it would be easier to rely on his own talent, intelligence, and spiritual achievements. But when he was flat on his face, he could only depend on God. When Paul was powerful, God’s power was was not visible. When Paul was in the struggle, the Lord’s strength would be most prominent. 

And it was not as if God simply wanted Paul to be weak for being weak’s sake. Rather, it was that Paul would learn where true power came from. That he would discover that self-reliance in spiritual matters is crippling. God believed that Paul was strong enough to be weak. And when he was was weak, then he was truly strong. 

Pastor Dean