2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (Sunday 2nd Reading)
7 ... Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
8 Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
10 Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
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It is when we give up our fears, our anxieties, our problems, and our failures that we grow closer to the Lord. We finally look up and realize that we really can't do it all on our own. In those moments we rely on the Lord heavily, maybe even exclusively. When that happens, we're getting close to the way God wants us to live.
Here's the cool thing: no issue is too small to give over to God. If anything is bothering us, we can just give it up to the Lord. It doesn't have to be tragic, or life threatening, or heart-wrenching, or anything of the sort. God wants us to call on Him in everything in our lives, not just in moments of crisis.
The Lord told Paul that His grace is sufficient. "Grace" means "gift" -- so God is telling us that his gifts are enough to get through whatever life throws at us. We don't need anything else. We might think we need more, but we don't.
It is when we are weak, that we are strong; and power is made perfect in weakness. These teachings are every bit as revolutionary today as when they were written in the first century. If you can get here in your spiritual life, you've got something going!
