Principle 7: Weak is the New Strong

So there I was, laying on the ice, not daring to move any more than wiggling my toes. That partly to keep the circulation going and partly to reassure myself that they still worked. I knew from the pain in my lower back that any unnecessary movement could have catastrophic consequences. Meanwhile my friends are on the ice next to me needing medical attention. One complains of trouble breathing, another is confused and disoriented. Ashley's not a complainer so she doesn't say much, but when I lift the blankets to see her face, I see a lot of blood and pain written all over it and I can tell she's worse off than me. As Eric hobbles around, he manages to keep us all warm, but he soon realizes that if he gets down to help someone, he's not getting up again. 

How am I feeling in this moment? Grateful to be alive? Yes, but also totally helpless, weak, useless. I have first aid training but I couldn't use any of it. I was totally dependent on someone coming to help with zero ability to help anyone else. 

The next three days brought lots of laying flat on my back unable to even sit up or roll onto my side. Pro-tip: if you're going to break your back, don't do it on a Friday because you have to wait for all the doctors to be "in the office" on Monday to decide what to do with you. Thankfully, they had a good plan and surgery went well. But then I got what sounded a little like a sentence to imprisonment. No lifting, bending, or twisting for 3 months, 1 year of recovery, lift no more than a gallon of milk. What does all that spell? Weakness... I'm going to be useless for a long time. 

But then there's Paul...

"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness." (II Cor 11:30)

Gee, thanks a lot Paul, now I have to re-think everything...

When Paul says this, he's in the middle of a battle to re-claim credibility with the Corinthian church as their founding apostle. It seems that some "super apostles" had come in with fancy speeches, leaning on the conventional wisdom that "you get what you pay for" mocked Paul for his free teaching. While they claimed to be important people, Paul makes his defense by saying he could foolishly match all their worldly claims to fame, but instead he chooses to boast in his weaknesses. 

In II Cor 11:23-29 Paul goes on to "boast" about how he has been a manual laborer, a convict and nearly died multiple times. He appears to be extremely accident prone and it seems like nearly everyone wants to kill him. Then, to top off his resume, he has extensive experience being cold, naked, and anxious. 

He goes on to explain that he could boast in his incredible revelations from God, but no; God put a "thorn in his flesh" to teach him that, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why for Christs's sake, I delight in weaknesses , in insults in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for when I am weak, then I am strong." (II Cor 12:9-10)

So I guess that means, not only do I have to re-think the meaning of my weakness, but also my feelings about it. How dare Paul delight in his hardships!

So how exactly is God's power made perfect in my weakness? I don't know. But what I do know is that although Paul's resume may have been a little sketchy, he was one of the most successful church planter / evangelists of all time. As an apostle of Christ,  He is a foundation stone of the Church as it exists today. Why? Because of his weakness. 

So I choose to look forward to seeing what God can do through my current state of helplessness. It aught to be a good show.