Consider the following (italics mine):
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God … I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.
Now I … myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent!
[The Greek word translated above “meek” is “tapeinos” which means:
depressed, i.e. (figuratively) humiliated (in circumstances or disposition), base, cast down, humble, of low degree (estate), lowly. Reference: http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/5011.htm]
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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 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.
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
The above Scripture references are from:
I Cor 2:1,3 (TNIV)
2 Cor 10:1 (NASB)
2 Cor 12:7-10 (NIV)
Hebrews 11:32-34 (NIV)
They were all written by the Apostle Paul, that hard-charging, fearless … wait, is that really what Paul was like? I always thought so, but I Cor 2:1-3 in particular got me wondering. Notice the theme of weakness in the verses above. Could it be that Paul was not always fearless, but was one who used his weakness to bring glory to God as his weakness was turned to strength?
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4 comments:
I think God gives all of us a weakness, 'a thorn in the flesh' to keep us humble - to recognize that it is all about HIM and not about us.
blessings
ron
Agreed, and I think that it is also designed that way so that in the Body of Christ each person contributes his/her own part, with everyone bearing with each others' weaknesses (a testimony of the love for each other that Jesus said would be a witness to Him). Then we get the joy of seeing how Jesus weaves that all together into a beautiful whole that glorifies Him.
Wow Beth. I was just thinking about the same thing...but haven't written it down yet. Maybe I will just ponder your words for a while. Good Stuff!
Thanks, Mary Lee. Clearly, "great minds think alike." :-)
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