It was the Christians in Corinth to whom Paul wrote that God “won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Almost as though to show how that differed from “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” Paul wrote to those same Christians that he faced a load of suffering “so far beyond our strength” he thought he might die. With gripping honesty, he shared the process by which he learned to accept his own weakness, rather than demanding that he must always be strong.

• Paul didn’t hide even his overwhelming struggles. His honesty sprang from a principle he wrote about in his first Corinthian letter: “the weakness of God is stronger than human strength … God chose what the world considers weak to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians1:25-27). Can you be honest and vulnerable about your struggles, or do you feel ashamed and try to hide them? Who do you know who helps you recognize the strength in honestly facing weakness?
• So where’s the strength in weakness? The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery noted, “Paul nowhere condones weakness of character … Christ has partaken of human weakness but without sin, and his perfect ministry is not without a loving discipline that calls out to ‘strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees’ (Heb 12:12) … Weakness in this case images an opportunity for faith, not for self-pity and a victim mentality.” In what ways are you allowing God’s power to be “made perfect in weakness” in you?