Realize Your Weak-Strong Potential!

7th Sunday after Pentecost, 7/11/21 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Realize Your Weak-Strong Potential! I. Recognize your weaknesses. II. Rely on the power of Christ. For those of you middle-age and above, when was it that you realized you weren’t getting any stronger? For most people, it occurs when they are in their late 20s or early 30s. Medical science indicates that’s the time in life when a person begins to lose muscle mass, unless they engage in muscle-building exercises. Flexibility and stamina also begin to decrease, ever so slowly, almost imperceptibly. And that tends to continue until you realize that you just can’t do some physical things as easily as you used to. And soon after that, you begin categorizing your physical opportunities in life as things you can still do and things you can no longer do. For instance, I watch my grandson run around my house. I used to run, a lot, almost every day of my life. Now I can’t remember the last time I even ran a step. I can no longer do it because I’m not as strong as I used to be. I’m weak in that regard. In this morning’s text from 2 Corinthians 12, St. Paul speaks about his weaknesses and his strengths. And we’ll take a look at those in-depth in a moment. But he concludes with a statement that seems self-contradictory. Listen to that statement once again, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” How could Paul have considered himself to be weak and yet strong at the same time? The answer? In Christ. And that’s the Lord’s will for you as well—to realize that you can be weak and yet strong in Christ. In fact, he wants you to flourish as you do so. In a manner of speaking, your Lord wants you to realize your weak-strong potential. If that sounds a bit confusing or you aren’t sure what I mean, follow with me as we examine this portion of God’s word. Part I. Contrary to what some people would have you believe about themselves, everyone has their weaknesses. I know I have mine and I’m certain you’d admit yours to me, at least privately. But the question is, “What’s your response to the fact that you have weaknesses?” Most people respond by covering them up, making sure they don’t show, or they show as discreetly as possible. Others go to great lengths to compensate for their deficiencies by excelling in other areas. That way other people see their better side. And then there’s the other extreme—people who will explain to you at length what their weaknesses are—real and imagined—in order to draw your attention to themselves and perhaps even invoke your pity. Obviously, that’s not healthy psychologically, but it happens. In speaking about his weaknesses here in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul isn’t guilty of either of those extremes. He speaks openly and freely about his weaknesses in general and one of them in particular. Listen again to that discussion, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me 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.’” In the previous verses, Paul referred to the visions that the Lord had given him, one in which he was taken into heaven. Paul might easily have succumbed to the temptation of feeling superior to every other Christian because he had received this preferential treatment from the Lord. But the Lord nipped that in the bud. He allowed Satan to afflict Paul with a thorn in the flesh. Bible scholars can only make guesses as to what this weakness was, so, we won’t discuss it here and now. What’s important is that Paul felt this weakness limited his ability to be a better apostle. So, he prayed for the Lord to take it away. But the Lord said, “No.” For our discussion this morning, let’s view a weakness as a limitation. It limits what we can do. It limits our enjoyment of life. It limits our ability to excel. What are your weaknesses? What limits you? Maybe it’s something physical, perhaps even chronic. Maybe it’s psychological or mental. I suppose it could even be a situation that you’re in. If you weren’t in that situation, you think you’d be so much more happy and so much more able to help others, to realize your potential. Now you know how Paul felt. But look closely at what Paul wrote about his weakness. He called it “a messenger of Satan to torment me.” Isn’t that a little harsh? I can’t remember calling my own weaknesses messengers of Satan. But what Paul wrote is true. Satan wants to use every trouble, every weakness, every problem in your life to weaken your faith in Jesus and eventually destroy your faith and bring your soul to hell with him. But notice what else Paul said about his thorn in the flesh. God allowed it. Now why would a loving and gracious God do that? Let Paul tell you why, “To keep me from becoming conceited.” God’s intent for this thorn in the flesh was not to drive Paul away from him, but to draw Paul towards him. It led Paul to realize that his ministry—as great as it was—was not about him; it was about the Lord and his glory. And that’s the first step to reaching your weak-strong potential. Recognize your weaknesses. Recognize where they come from and what their purpose is. Have you ever talked with a person that is obviously full of himself or herself? I’m sure you have, and it’s insufferable. You want to make a hasty exit from that conversation. You might even resort to making up an excuse to leave. And I get it. Why would you want to listen to someone tell you how wonderful they are? And the last thing you ever want to become is a person like that. Your God doesn’t want you to think too much of yourself, either. So, he allows weaknesses to come into your life. Limitations. Troubles. Hardships. Problems for which there seems to be no earthly solution. And what are our reactions? Perhaps we whine and complain. We try to invoke attention or pity from others. We might even go so far as to adopt a “woe is me” mentality. Eventually, depression rolls in. We might even get angry with God. If so, we have missed the point. We’re pulling away from our God because of our weakness. His intent is to draw us closer to him. Your God loves you so much that he wants every difficulty of your life to cause you to realize that the root cause of every trouble is sin—your sin and mine and the sins of all people of all time. And the solution to sin is not simply to make your life trouble-free and to remove all your weaknesses. The solution to sin is found in Christ. It’s in his forgiveness which he won for you by becoming weak all the way to the cross for you. When your weaknesses draw you closer to Christ, then it’s a win for you and for your Lord Jesus who simply wants you to have life with him. Part II. Power struggles. They’re occurring daily in our lives. Toddlers and parents. Teens and parents. Co-workers. Corporations. Nations. They not only occur every day, they also never stop. It’s the world we live in. It’s also the spiritual world we live in. As Paul described his situation, did it occur to you that he was actually describing a power struggle? Satan’s deepest desire was to put an end to Paul’s mission work. The last thing Satan wanted was for Paul to speak another word about Jesus to anyone. He wanted to use this thorn in the flesh as a means to silence Paul for good. In fact, he was hoping Paul would fall into despair when the Lord replied “No,” to Paul’s prayers not once, not twice, but three times. He wanted Paul to reply, “If that’s the way you’re going to treat me after all I’ve done for you, Lord, then I’m done with you.” Satan attempts to wage that same battle with you and every other Christian every day, all day. And he has an ally—our sinful nature. Our sinful nature feeds on vices such as greed, lust, discontentment, laziness, and selfishness. The sinful nature wants nothing to do with Jesus and refuses his claim on our lives. With those two hellish powers constantly pulling our souls in their direction, what hope do we have? The same one Paul had—Jesus Christ. Listen to his victorious description, “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.” Satan and our sinful natures are no match for the power of Christ. Jesus displayed that power in his resurrection from the dead. He has power over all things, and, by his grace, he lives in you with his divine power. As you know, Paul eventually suffered a martyr’s death. We might call that the greatest of hardships. But he didn’t lose; he won. The Lord received him into heaven, where Paul now enjoys his life at its greatest potential—in eternal glory. That’s the Lord’s goal for you. Reach your weak-strong potential! Rely on the power of Christ. My weaknesses—my limitations—aren’t going away. In fact, they are slowly increasing. It’s likely the same with you. But that’s no reason to get depressed or panic. By faith in Jesus, you are strong. By faith in Jesus, you will overcome every weakness, every setback, every disappointment, every tragedy that this life throws your way. Jesus wins. By faith in Jesus, you win, too. Living in that confidence each day of your life is reaching your weak-strong potential. May the Lord Jesus give you that confidence in abundance! Amen.