In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul was sharing one of his personal struggles. He actually called it a thorn in his flesh and a messenger from Satan.
So here was the greatest author in the New Testament, the guy who opened the door of the Gospel to the entire Gentile world, and he was confused and confined by a weakness.
Paul asked God to fix it. Three times. But it didn’t work. Nothing changed. Instead, God gave this mysterious promise that His power works best in weakness. He answered Paul’s prayer by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” [verse 9]
It may sound like a profoundly unsatisfying response if you’re asking God to wave His hand and eliminate your shortcomings.
You don’t want to be weak. You want to be strong.
But it isn’t about being strong despite weaknesses. And it isn’t about being strong after weaknesses are gone. It is about being strong in and through and because of weaknesses.
Somehow, incredibly, the things that drive you crazy about yourself might be central to the fulfillment of your potential.
Your weaknesses don’t disqualify you. They actually qualify you even more, because they are the portals through which God’s power permeates your life.
That doesn’t mean you never need to change, of course. You never stop changing. But it means the current version of you is the right version of you for this moment.
Stop stressing and straining to be a different you, because the real you is perfect and priceless. It’s not only what God has to work with. It’s what God wants to work with. And from that starting place, progress is possible.
Excerpt from (Un)Qualified by Steven Furtick
