S2E34 Power Made Perfect in Weakness

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the Spray UMC podcast.

I'm your host, Hoyt, and I am grateful that you're here today.

We live in a world that admires strength.

We are encouraged to be confident, capable, productive, and independent.

When someone asks how we're doing, we often say, I'm fine.

Even when we are exhausted, frightened, hurting, or uncertain.

Sometimes that pressure follows us into the church.

We may begin to believe that strong faith means never struggling, never becoming discouraged, and never needing help.

We may hide our weaknesses because we do not want to disappoint other people, and perhaps because we fear that our struggle somehow disappoints God.

But Scripture gives us a more honest picture of faith.

The Apostle Paul was a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.

He preached the gospel, planted churches, endured persecution, and experienced extraordinary revelations from God.

Yet Paul also spoke openly about weakness.

He told the church about a burden he could not overcome in a prayer that was not answered in the way he wanted.

Today we are going to consider a difficult but hopeful question.

What if weakness is not the place where God abandons us, but the place where we learn how deeply we need his grace?

Paul described what he called a thorn in the flesh.

Listen to his words.

Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me, but he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.

Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me.

So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insult, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties for the sake of Christ.

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Bible never tells us exactly what Paul's thorn was.

Christians have suggested a physical illness, a painful limitation, persecution, opposition, or spiritual distress.

We should resist the temptation to sound certain where scripture remains silent.

Whatever the thorn was, it was real, it was painful, it persisted.

Paul did not pretend otherwise.

He pleaded with the Lord three times to remove it.

That does not sound like a casual request.

Paul brought his knee before God repeatedly and honestly.

Asking for relief was not evidence of weak faith.

It was an act of faith because Paul knew where to take his pain.

There are moments when Christians feel pressure to make every prayer sound calm and victorious.

Paul shows us that faithful prayer can also say, Lord, I do not want to carry this.

Please take it away.

We do not honor God by pretending that the thorn does not hurt.

We honor God by bringing the truth into his presence.

God did not answer Paul in the way Paul requested.

The thorn remained.

That can be one of the hardest realities of faith.

Sometimes we pray and circumstances change.

Healing comes, a door opens, a relationship is restored, danger passes.

When that happens, we should give thanks.

At other times the illness remains, the limitation continues, the grief does not disappear, or the situation refuses to change.

We pray sincerely, and the answer we wanted does not come.

We must be careful with one another in those moments.

An unanswered prayer does not prove that someone lacks faith.

It does not mean the person used the wrong words, failed to believe strongly enough, or somehow disappointed God.

Jesus prayed honestly in the garden.

He asked that the cup of suffering pass from him while surrendering himself to the Father's will.

Honest desire and faithful surrender can exist within the same prayer.

Faith does not require us to call suffering good.

It calls us to trust that God remains good, even when life is painful.

We may never receive a complete explanation for another person's suffering, and quick explanations can deepen the wound.

Often, our presence, compassion, and practical help are more faithful than any attempt to explain everything.

God's refusal to remove a burden does not mean he has refused to remain with us.

God did not give Paul a full explanation.

He gave Paul a promise.

Sufficient grace means grace that is enough for the present need.

It does not mean that every day feels easy.

It does not mean that pain disappears, or that fear never returns, or that we never become tired and discouraged.

Sometimes we want God to give us strength for the entire journey at once.

We want to know that we can manage tomorrow, next month, and every possibility waiting beyond the horizon.

But grace often becomes to us one day at a time, and sometimes one hour at a time.

God may give us strength for the next faithful step rather than a complete map of the road ahead.

Grace may come through the quiet presence of the Holy Spirit.

It may come through a passage of Scripture remembered at the right moment.

A friend who refuses to leave, a church that brings a meal, a nurse who offers kindness, or a doctor who provides wise treatment.

Grace may come as peace that arise even though the circumstances have not yet changed.

Receiving medical care is not a failure to trust God.

Asking for help is not spiritual defeat.

God regularly works through the knowledge, compassion, and service of other people.

Sufficient grace is not always grace for the whole journey at once.

Sometimes it's grace for today.

God told Paul, my power is perfected in weakness.

This does not mean that weakness itself is holy or that Christians should pursue suffering.

It means that weakness exposes the limits of self-reliance and makes room for faithfulness of Christ to become faith visible.

When everything is going well, we can easily imagine that we are carrying ourselves.

We trust our plans, abilities, health, resources, and determination.

Weakness reminds us that these gifts have limits.

We are creatures, not the creator.

The cross is the greatest example of God's power appearing through what the world called weakness.

Jesus did not conquer through domination or worldly force.

He gave himself in sacrificial love and obedience.

What appeared to be defeat became the means through which sin and death were overcome.

Resurrection followed the cross.

God's power does not always appear as traumatic success.

It may appear as endurance, patience, faithfulness, courage, forgiveness, or love that survives a painful season.

It may appear when someone gets out of bed, attends another treatment, asks for help, or chooses hope for one more day.

God's power is not displayed by proving that we never struggle.

It is displayed when Christ remains faithful within our struggle.

For me, weakness is not only a theological idea.

Three days each week I sit in a dialysis chair while a machine does the work my body can no longer do for itself.

Some treatments go more smoothly than others.

There are days when I leave the chair physically tired and emotionally drained.

The treatment still has to continue.

There is no dramatic moment when I suddenly become strong enough not to need it.

I would never tell you that dialysis is easy or that weakness is something I enjoy.

I pray honestly about it.

I am grateful for the treatment, but gratitude does not require me to pretend that the burden is light.

Yet I have also learned that Christ meets me there.

Grace comes through the people who care for me, through the prayers of others, through a word of encouragement, and through enough strength to take the next step.

The weakness may remain, but Christ has not abandoned me within it.

My weakness does not prevent God from being present.

It makes me more aware of how I deeply I need Him.

Your thorn may be difficult.

I'm sorry.

Your thorn may be different from mine.

It may be grief, chronic pain, depression, disability, fear, family trouble, loneliness, financial pressure, or a responsibility that has exhausted you.

Our burdens are not identical, but the promise remains.

Christ's grace meets us where our strength ends.

Physical limitation is not spiritual failure.

Needing rest is not the same as giving up.

Receiving treatment is not evidence that faith has failed.

Asking for prayer, counsel, assistance, or companionship can be an act of humility and courage.

The church should be a place where people can tell the truth about their weakness.

We should not pressure suffering people to smile, hide their pain, or perform strength for our comfort.

We are called to carry one another's burdens, not judge one another for having them.

There is also an important boundary we must state clearly.

God's strength and weakness must never be used to tell someone to remain in abuse, danger, exploitation, or preventable suffering.

Seeking safety, justice, medical treatment, counseling, or practical help can be a faithful response.

Endurance does not mean refusing to help God has placed within reach.

Paul's weakness taught him dependence upon Christ.

It did not make him cruelly acceptable, preventable harm, holy, or wise assistance unnecessary.

If you are facing a place of weakness today, begin by telling God the truth.

Name the burden.

Ask for relief without shame.

You do not need to protect God from your honest prayer.

Then place the outcome into his hands.

Receive appropriate help.

Stop comparing your strength with someone else's.

Another person's ability does not define what faithfulness looks like in your body or for your circumstances.

Look for the grace God has already provided today.

It may not be everything you wanted, but it may be enough for the next faithful step.

Ask yourself, where am I trying to appear strong when I need to receive God's grace?

And when you do not know what else to pray, try this simple prayer.

Lord Jesus, I do not have enough strength for everything before me.

Give me sufficient grace for the next faithful step.

Paul asked the Lord to remove the thorn.

The thorn remained, but it did not have the final word.

Christ's grace was greater than Paul's weakness.

We do not need to deny our limitations.

We can bring them honestly before Jesus.

God may reveal his power by removing the burden, and when he does, we give thanks.

God may also reveal his power by sustaining us beneath the burden that remains.

In either case, our hope rests in Christ rather than our own strength.

When our strength comes to an end, God's grace does not.

His power is made perfect, not in the strength we pretend to possess, but in the weakness we honestly place into his hand.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, you know every weakness we carry and every burden we have asked you to remove.

Give us courage to pray honestly and faith to trust you with the answer.

Keep us from believing that weakness means failure or that suffering proves that we have too little faith.

Be near to those who are ill, exhausted, frightened, grieving, or discouraged.

Lead them toward the care, safety, and help they need.

When you remove a burden, teach us to give thanks.

When the burden remains, give us sufficient grace for the next faithful step.

Let your strength be revealed within our weakness, and remind us that nothing we face can separate us from your love.

In your holy name we pray.

Amen.

Before we close, I want to let you know about my book, The Apostles' Creed, is available on Amazon.

In this short, scripture-centered book, we slow down and consider what the familiar words of the Creed mean for our faith and daily lives.

My prayer is that it will help you know and love Jesus Christ more deeply.

You can find the Apostles' Creed by searching for my name, Hoyt S.

Barrett Jr., on Amazon.

Thank you for joining me today.

If you do not have a church home, we would love to have you worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.

We are a loving church where we love God and love people, all people.

Until next time, may the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe.

Goodbye.