“Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)
Paul begins this chapter by describing a moment when he was taken up to paradise. He admits what he saw was too wonderful for words—so great that he couldn’t even explain it if he tried. But instead of boasting about this vision, Paul refuses to boast about it. He shifts the focus away from himself and toward Christ.
In verse 7, Paul says he was given a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from becoming proud. He pleaded with God to take it away, but God answered with a greater gift: “My grace is all you need.” Paul realized that the very things he wished would go away—the hardships, the insults, the struggles—were actually the places where God’s power could shine the brightest.
And so Paul made a choice: instead of hiding his weaknesses, pretending they didn’t exist, or covering them with a band-aid, he would be honest about them. He would boast in them, not to appear humble, but so others could clearly see Christ’s strength working through his limitations.
What about you? Are you trying to patch over your weaknesses, or are you allowing them to become a platform for God’s glory? Remember—your weakness doesn’t disqualify you. It may be the very thing God uses to show His strength. When you stop striving to fix yourself and start relying on His grace, you’ll discover a power that was never yours to begin with.