His Power and My Weakness

God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2Cor 12.9

This verse is comforting to me, because right now I feel weak. But what does it mean when I say "I feel weak"? In of itself it doesn't say much other than I feel less strong than something. Less strong than what? Less strong than other men my age, or less strong than I was a month ago, or maybe just less strong than I want to be. But the reality is that no matter how strong I am, my strength is nothing compared to God's power. God doesn't need my strength. God created me for his glory, and he gives me the level of strength he wants me to have to achieve his purposes. That is humbling, but it is also very comforting.

What does it mean that God's power is made "perfect" in my weakness? Maybe it means that because I am weak that I am not using my strength to interfere with what God is doing with his power. Or it may mean that I now have to let God do his job because I don't have the strength to do it for him. Or maybe it means that I will now have to stop wasting my time and strength doing things God is not interested in, and will now cooperate with God in doing what he wants to accomplish. Jesus alludes to this in John 15.1-2, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” God has pruned my strength. I believe he wants me to bear new fruit, fruit that I would not otherwise have borne if I'd had more strength. And I think He wants to get the glory from this fruit.