Gò0dNews for Everyone
Finding Strength in Weakness
A
by Dr. Alan D. Hix
ugust is a month of beginnings. My two
Paul had received a great gift. He had been given a
granddaughters are looking forward to the
glimpse of the glory of heaven that awaits believers. He
excitement of being in the next grade. As a lifelong
would have been glad to encourage others in sharing the
educator, I have seen August as a time for dreaming new
amazing sights and sounds. However, God threw a roadblock
dreams and looking forward to new possibilities as the
into that plan by allowing a difficulty to enter Paul’s life
school year begins. The business of fall activities keeps that
that caused him to question God’s plan. God’s response was
excitement going into the Christmas break. The new year
simple, yet profound: “My grace is all you need.”
also starts with anticipation of good things to come. However, by Spring Break, both students and teachers are ready for the school year to be over. The dreams of the year past have either been realized, dimmed, or fallen to the side. By Spring Break, we’ve settled into making it to the end. Sometimes our spiritual lives are like that. We come into a relationship with Christ with a host of dreams and possibilities. Over time, however, that original fervor often dims, and we settle into a “getting through the day” mindset. Add to that the difficulties and crises that life throws our way, and we can lose that sense of the close connection to Christ we felt at first. We long for that original sense of intimacy, and we wonder how we will face the challenges yet to come. The Apostle Paul had a similar experience that he relates
One of the struggles we have as believers is that we often assume that if we are faithful and obedience to Christ, that our lives should be relatively free from difficulty. We
in 2 Corinthians 12:2-9:
assume that hardship and difficulty are the exception. Paul
I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago…and heard
discovered that it is those very things which challenge
things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth…So, to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each
our faith that cause us to realize that in those moments of discouragement, God’s grace is all we need. The hopes, dreams, and anticipations for our lives that we thought were crushed find new direction in Him. It is this shift of focus that moved Paul to conclude in verse 10, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” So, the next time you find yourself standing amidst the wreckage of your broken dreams, choose to turn to Christ, not away from Him. When we do, we discover, like Paul, God’s grace is all we need.
weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me (NLT).
38 // August 2022
About The Author
time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in
Dr. Alan Hix is an Associate Professor of Christian Studies at Shorter University. In addition to being and educator, he has served churches as a pastor, been involved in mission trips to Africa, Canada, and Alaska, and participated in archaeological excavations in Israel for several years.
