Monday: Strength Through Weakness

"I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have received your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any  and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."     Philippians 4:10-13


"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness."     2 Corinthians 11:30

One of my major goals in these devos is to provide you with context in each verse. It is extremely important that we understand what the writer intended and to whom it was written to. From this we can interpret the application to our own lives in the present day. In the verse above I want to focus on verse 13 ("I can do all things through him who strengthens me"), but understand it within the context in which Paul is writing. Immediately we assume that this verse applies to God strengthening us spiritually, not that this is false, but it is not what Paul intended. When you read the entire chapter, or book for that matter you begin to see that here Paul is talking about God strengthening him physically. Paul endured many things throughout his mission all over Europe. He was beaten five times with forty lashes less one, beaten three times with rods, he was stoned, shipwrecked three times, once being adrift for a full day and night and he was even bitten by a poisonous snake (2 Cor. 11:23-29). And in the end Paul says, "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness" (2 Cor. 11:30). Paul boasts in his weakness because it is through his weakness that God makes him strong. In the same way God makes us strong when we are weak. If we think we have it all going on our own then we will fail because God is not our strength. Paul says to the Philippians that whether he is facing plenty or hunger, abundance or need, God is his strength. In the times of good and bad God is what gives strength to Paul. For if we put our strength in material possessions such as money we will have nothing when we face times of need. But God is with us always and He supplies for us both in the good times and the bad times. It's easy for us to run to God when we are in the depths of despair because we have no other option. We need to also run to Him when are are blessed with plenty. For if God is our strength nothing can bring us down, NOTHING. Everything we do should be through the strength of God. For Paul even says that everything he did was through the strength of God and Paul did a lot.

Through our weakness God makes us strong
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