2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
Paul mentions that boasting is necessary, but he redefines what it means. Instead of boasting in strength or accomplishments, he boasts in weakness. Weakness is where Christ’s power can be seen most clearly. Strength can hide our dependence on God. Weakness makes that dependence very visible.
This goes against natural instinct. People naturally want to fix weakness, avoid it, or hide it. Weakness feels like a problem. Paul learns to take pleasure in it because it is the place where God can show his power. But there is a big difference in the popular trend to exalt in our problems for their own sake. Instead, the emphasis is on Christ’s strength.
This idea is very real when life feels beyond your control. When your abilities are not enough, that is the moment when God’s grace is most evident. His grace is not barely enough. It is more than enough.
The outcome is dependence on God instead of yourself. Strength can make it easy to trust yourself. Weakness forces you to trust God. That is the place where true strength begins.