Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given 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.

Reflection:

Have you ever wrestled with someone who was WAY stronger than you? Maybe it was your mom or dad, or an older sibling, or even a friend who’s just plain stronger than you? You might put up a good fight, but at some point, they are just too strong and end up pinning you, right? Now if you get pinned, (or worse, if they make you surrender/say uncle), do you immediately start bragging about how weak you are? Do you start to talk about how AWESOME it is that you are weak, and they are strong? No, of course not! No chance you’d brag about how much weaker you are than the other person, because we don’t like to talk about times where we are weak! So why does Paul, in our reading, say that he will ‘boast’, or brag, about being weak? Because Paul knows that when he is weak, and when he isn’t strong enough to do something, it leaves room for God to come in and give him strength! Because Paul knows that if he is too weak to do something, God will come in and give him the strength that he needs to get it done. That’s why Paul says ‘when I am weak, I am strong’. Because when we try to do something on our own, there is a lot that we can’t do. But when we admit that we aren’t strong enough to do it, and ask God to help us, He gives us the strength that we need to get it done.

• How does God know when we need help, or extra strength?
• Is there anything in your life that you could ask God for strength to help you do?