Living by grace

I was thinking on a passage I was reading with my small group yesterday. It’s a pretty famous passage in which Paul talks about his “thorn in the flesh.”

Three times Paul asked that it be taken from him, and three times, God refused, answering,

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Paul, looking back on the experience, then said,

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (9b-10)

Truth be told, I hate being in places of weakness, where I don’t feel like I’m in control.

I suppose few people do.

My dad talked about it being like walking on a tightrope with no safety net below.

Not a comfortable feeling.

But if I don’t experience weakness, I’ll never truly experience God’s grace.

That was true when God saved me. (Romans 5:6)

It remains true even now.

So maybe I need to do a little more stepping out, reveling in my weakness.

I’m not exactly sure what that means for me now. But I’m sure it won’t be long before God starts telling me.