Foundations
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT)
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 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. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The last few years have been the most challenging of my life, which probably resonates with you too. I know we’ve all been hit hard in many ways through the pandemic, losing loved ones, health battles, redundancies, financial burdens, and much more. On a personal level, Anna and I were adjusting to raising two young boys in a house during lockdown, feeling the distance of family support and the tiredness of it all. Accompanying that, the unknown and fear around COVID-19 and all that it brought with it.
I found myself pouring out my heart to God, leaning into him. I felt so weak and yet my resolve and confidence in him was growing. My dependency and deepening in him was being worked out. I was reminded daily of this passage in 2 Corinthians where St. Paul chooses to boast, not just mention, or acknowledge but boast, in weakness… because that’s where the power is.
This is the upside-down Kingdom, the equation that does not make sense to the World… when I am weak, I am actually strong, because there God will be. And not just that, but God uses this posture and this position of weakness as the foundational building blocks on which to build his Kingdom.
The lyrics flowed out of me:
‘When I feel like ruins, you see foundations
You see foundations to build your Kingdom here.’
We see this dynamic in all its glory through the cross of Jesus Christ. The ultimate position of weakness, death on a cross, became the ultimate victory. I praise Jesus today that it’s his power, nothing that the world can offer, that can use weak people and weak things to make something beautiful.
Prayer — God, make me a vessel today for your Kingdom. Help me not to view my weakness as a hinderance but as a reminder of your power made perfect. Thank you that you’re able and willing to use my life to build your Kingdom here on earth.