II Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Some mornings the first thought on my mind when I wake up is, “Lord, help!” Has your first thought when you open your eyes in the morning ever been, “O boy, I need help. Lord, please help!”? On occasion, I wake up and I am vaguely concerned about something, but I can’t remember what it is. But the moment I do remember, I think, “Lord, help!” It is not altogether bad, to be in a place where you realize how weak you are.
God only helps those who need it. Someone could say, “All of us need help.” Yes, but not all of us acknowledge that we need help, and God only helps those who need it. I could add for clarity, God only helps people who need it and know it.
In II Corinthians 12, Paul is recounting how he had a thorn in the flesh, something for which he had asked deliverance. God said, “No, I am not going to take this away from you. I am not going to relieve you. My grace is sufficient for you.” God goes on to say, “For my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul concludes, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” That was Paul’s testimony. Paul asked for deliverance, but God said, “My grace is enough, and my strength is complete in your weakness.”
If all that I did that was worthy of note was simply a result of my own effort and my own talent, then why would I need God? “Therefore,” Paul says, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Paul wasn’t crazy. He didn’t enjoy trouble. When he says, “I take pleasure,” he means, “I look well at.” He looked well at weaknesses, reproaches, need, and even persecution. All these things were trouble he wouldn’t have had if he were not doing what God wished him to do. He says that it is “for Christ’s sake.”
Then he says, “For when I am weak, then am I strong.” “Lord, help!” is a good prayer to pray because God helps those who need it and know it. You see, you will live in your weakness as long as you settle for your own strength. All of us have weaknesses. Those weaknesses are sometimes better for us than our strengths because the weaknesses help us to acknowledge the strength that God has and wishes to provide for those who depend on Him. We need to depend on Him every day for what we need, for what we lack, and for what He can provide.