Overcoming Gravity

Believe it or not, I learned to ride a bike on a girl's Schwinn Spitfire that our families had passed from one kid to the next.

I wasn’t tall enough to touch the ground while sitting on the seat, which made starts a little harder, but one day I finally got it! I was able to ride the bike while remaining upright without crashing to the ground.

I had overcome gravity--or so I thought.

As I found out, once you stop, gravity easily takes over.

In 2nd Corinthians 12:9, Paul pleads with the Lord to take away a “thorn in his flesh” placed there by a messenger of satan.

Jesus simply replies,

"My Grace is sufficient for you and my power is made perfect in weakness, for power is perfected in weakness."

Now, Paul was very confident in his Apostleship.

His calling was undeniable to him, and he knew he was sent and trained by the Lord Jesus himself. He could boast on any number of subjects, as he implied that he was trained by the Lord, and this was confirmed through many signs, wonders, and miracles.

Paul’s confidence could have came from his abilities, but he seemed to embrace a superior way given to him by the Lord, which is the confidence that comes from one's weaknesses being overcome through grace.

Paul accepted his weaknesses as well as the difficulties, persecutions, insults, and distresses he experienced for Christ's sake because he knew that God's power is made perfect in weakness.

Most of us would like the Lord to take these away, but perhaps to take them away would take away the sake of Christ. That is, living a life for the sake of Christ will inevitably produce opposition that exposes our weaknesses which gives grace a chance to work.

That is God’s power not ours.

Our power is sufficient only to live a life unopposed.

When we position our life behind our strengths it may not leave room for grace to be perfected. It may not allow our weaknesses to be evident.

The phrase, “never let them see you sweat” indicates that revealing weakness portrays a lack of confidence, but when trials you couldn't handle on your own are overcome by a confidence in Christ alone, a testimony is birthed.

Where there is no test, there is no testimony.

So we boast in what we can’t do, that grace did through us, in order to testify to a greater Glory than our abilities.

Eventually, our abilities will fall short or tire out and gravity will take over. Grace catches us, even though we may seem to be falling short, and in our weaknesses he will make us strong.

Be strong in the Lord.