None of us are undamaged

How is our strength perfected? In weakness.

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Some would quickly argue that you cannot be strong and weak at the same time. They would say it's impossible to use weakness to strengthen us. Yet time and time again it truly is adversities that make us stronger, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.  I'm definitely not saying this is always the case because it isn't. Because it is also true that some times adversities destroy us.  With our Savior and His amazing grace it is possible for our strength to be made perfect in our weak sinful, human state.

Paul states here that he will glory in his infirmities. 

Do we glory in our infirmities? 

We all have infirmities don't we? Not necessarily physical but emotional and mental as well. None of us are undamaged by the world we've grown up into.  We truly need to LEARN to glory in our infirmities because the POWER of Christ rests upon us as we do. It is HIS power because we are TOTALLY relying on HIM and HIS promises that by HIS GRACE we will be saved. We have HOPE beyond our infirmities. Every single infirmity we possess is cause to give glory to God because truly our spiritual strength is made perfect in our weakness. The more we truly believe and comprehend that we are WEAK and HELPLESS to SAVE OURSELVES the more we rely upon the only source of salvation. JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD, OUR SAVIOR.

Paul said- 'Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong.'

Infirmities.

Reproaches.

Necessities.

Persecutions.

Distresses.

Who among us hasn't felt these same things?

I will NEVER say that others don't have it a million times worse than I do, I know they do, I'm not delusional. My life has been one of great blessings. My infirmities, my reproaches, my necessities, my persecutions, and my distresses have been miniscule compared to many others.  But I can't in all truthfulness say I haven't had any infirmities, or reproaches, or necessities, or persecutions, or distresses- I have.  Have I taken pleasure in them? No, I really haven't. It's hard to take pleasure in things that make your stomach tie up in painful knots and your mind race wildly as panic sets in. Yet as my life goes on and I, through the grace of my Savior, I learn, I hope and pray that in future infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses I can take pleasure in them knowing that my weakness only reveals the strength of the grace of my Savior more and more.

People have it wrong when they believe if God really exists and loves them that they wouldn't suffer. They say they don't want to believe in a God who lets them suffer. They want a God that can alleviate their pain, their anguish by ridding their lives of all that causes them that pain and suffering. They want a magic wand waved over them and their loved ones, in fact most go as far as to include the entire world. They want the all the suffering in all the world to be gone- if God exists and they want it done yesterday, in fact they say they there should never have been pain and suffering in the first place. They play God, but at the heart of their belief is the desire for dictatorship, for a puppet master, for someone to arrange things so there is no free choice, no possibility of disobedience, no freedom at all whatsoever because freedom brings with it the risk of disobedience. People don't want to have that freedom to choose, they want it to have been taken from them from the start so no pain exists. 

From our limited experiences with dictatorship, with slavery, most of us have agreed they are not good things. Who would choose to be the slave if given a choice? Don't most choose rather to be the master of the slave? And there we have it, most would rather be the God then have a God. And many would rather create their own sort of God, a God that suits them and allows for their whims, their ways- a false God who is really just their slave, and not a God at all.

The truth is- most would love to call evil good and do, and they wish to call good evil and do. 

Yes, we need to learn to take pleasure in our anguish states, but ONLY through the grace of God, only so that our strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Please, Father, bless us to this end. In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord, now and forever. Amen.