Perfected Strength

“And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

I tried; I really did. I tried really hard to be an ideal example of what a good Christian should be. I did my level best to follow the Law and every religious rule and regulation I could get my hands on. I looked up to those pastors and religious leaders whom I thought had the best testimony and I put forth my best effort to emulate them. I did all of this believing that God would love and bless me more for being a “strong” and “pure” Christian. But there was always this problem…my humanity kept getting in the way. No matter how much I worked, prayed, gave and fasted, I kept coming up short of the mark; way short.

My weaknesses were greater than my flimsy efforts to be “all that”. My sin was deeper and wider than my own religious arms could manage to reach. My “faithfulness” was inconsistent, my “purity” troubled me, and the religious masks I had worn for so long were irritating my face. I was in distress, in debt and discontented. I was tired, burned out, discouraged, and hopeless. I was sick of myself. I was weary of fighting the battle and losing more ground than I had gained.

But then I heard about something called grace…God’s marvelous, scandalous, sovereign, all-embracing grace.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still a mess. I am still not as pure and faithful as I ought to be. But I am learning to relax; to embrace my weaknesses because Jesus’ grace is sufficient for me. I do want to get better. I desire more purity and faithfulness in my life. But now, I have Christ’s sufficient grace; He is perfecting His strength in my weakness, and this is far greater than any purity or faithfulness that I could ever obtain by my own “good” works.

And the best part is that all of this was His idea, not mine.