January 27: True Strength

He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a paradox as "a statement that seems to contradict itself but may nonetheless be true." And the New Testament gives us several good examples: we receive by giving, we live by dying, and we become great by becoming small.

One of the most important paradoxes for Christian living is found in the apostle Paul's experience with weakness and strength. When he found himself to be weak, he asked God to remove the weakness so he could once again be strong enough to serve. But instead of removing the weakness, God gave Paul grace to experience the strength and power of Jesus Christ in his life. It was when Paul was willing to be humanly weak that he was in the right place to experience the strength of Christ. And therein lies the paradox: we become strong (in Christ) as we recognize our own human weakness and depend more on Him and less on ourselves.

Today, exercise, eat healthily, sleep well. But remember that your truth strength is the strength of Jesus.

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Real true faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength. - D.L. Moody