May 9, 2022 - 2 Corinthians 12:9b

“…for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9b ESV

Lord, we praise you that even in our weaknesses, you make a way. We thank you for our weaknesses, as they keep us pressing into you. We never want to be in a place that we can do everything in our own strength. Lord, we want to need you. We want to do everything in you and through your strength. Teach us to see our weaknesses as assets. Show us how to allow you to use them. Help us remember that you will give us the grace to deal with the hard things in our lives. It is often those hard things and/or our weaknesses that help to keep us humble. Lord, we want to welcome humility into our lives. Help us to immediately recognize and deal with pride as soon as it tries to show itself in our lives.

Like Paul who wanted you to remove this “thorn in his flesh”, we want to give those things to you. Help us learn to trust you so that those things drive us closer to you and not away from you. We don’t want to blame you for them, but see you use them to glorify you. Help us learn to keep our focus on you and not on our “problems”, so that we can access all the grace and strength we need to overcome them or work around them.

Lord, we praise you for your power that will rest on us, as we learn to trust you. Lord, I thank you that you are in the business of using people who don’t feel that they are capable to do what you asked of them. Help our trust level be to the place that we are willing to walk up to Goliath, even as a young boy with no armor and nothing but a sling and some stones, yet full of trust that you will overcome through us. We praise you that you are more than able to do anything through us in spite of or even because of our weakness and struggles.

In Jesus name, amen.