Power in Weakness

Dear TeenPact Nation,

You may have heard me talk about 2 Corinthians 12:9, which says, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  Just think about what those words mean.  “My power is made perfect in weakness.”  Hold on a minute, does that mean that you don’t have to be strong and try to do things when you know you’re not strong enough? If you are thinking this, you might be in the same boat as Moses.  He didn’t want to be God’s spokesman because he was, “slow of speech.” On the other hand, you might think that you are pretty strong, and can do things on your own. Well that is what Paul thought, until the “thorn in the flesh” came along. He wanted God to get rid of that thorn, so that he could get back to his ministry. But God answered him with 2 Corinthians 12:9. God’s power is made perfect in weakness.

God wants to give us the strength for whatever task He gives us. He doesn’t want us to shy away from it because we think we aren’t skilled enough, as Moses did.  He also doesn’t want us to go at it with our own strength as Paul was trying to do. What does boasting in weakness look like practically?  I know I spoke much about this last year in running for President and Vice President with Anna Jolibois. I talked about how I never had the skill of public speaking, I boasted in that weakness and God was glorified. This is not a one-time lesson, no matter where you are in life, this applies.

God wants to give us the strength for whatever task He gives us.

Earlier this year, I returned home from the Indiana I class where I spent the week learning how to Program Direct the 4-Day Class. I was excited to have a week-long break without a class to get ready for Program Directing the Virginia II class. My plan for the week was clear. Sleep, rest, prepare to program direct the next week. I looked forward to it. I figured, “I have an entire week to work on this.” God’s plan was quite different.

2:00 A.M.

Sunday night. After watching TV with my sister and staying up late I go to bed. I’m not worried about losing sleep. I have a whole week of nothing to do!

7:10 A.M.

Monday Morning. I am deep asleep, since I stayed up really late last night. As far as I am concerned all is well.

7:15 A.M.

Just five minutes later, my Dad (and boss) wakes me up. The Program Director for the Virginia I class, is sick. What is going on? I need a haircut…that will have to wait. (No kidding, this was one of my first thoughts.) Can I do Monday? Why not? I can do one day, this will help me get ready for the class next week. But, it is only one day. “Yeah, sure, I will do today.”

I show up to the class, grab a schedule, and I lead the team. The day goes well, God is good, I have a great staff team.

6:00 P.M.

Monday night. I return to the camp with the team and prepare to hand the week over to the intended Program Director, but he is still sick, and can’t do it.

This is crazy. God, why are you doing this to me? Didn’t I talk enough about boasting in my weakness when running for President? Wasn’t today enough? I already showed Your strength through my various weaknesses: I like to prepare for things, but I wasn’t prepared; I don’t like to be flexible when it comes to the schedule, but I was today; Public Speaking is still not a strength of mine, and when I do it on short notice I am even more nervous. Have I not glorified You enough?

3:00 P.M.

Thursday Afternoon. After giving my closing challenge…

One thing that I had to constantly remember was that it isn’t what I want, it is what God wants. I told him that I wanted that perfect peace that He promises in Isaiah 26:3, and He gave me that peace. The week went really well, and I can tell you, God is so good! Look to Him for strength, and He will give it to you.

Sincerely,

Luke Martin