Jesus came for the weak and broken, the poor in spirit. Not the strong, the whole, the rich in spirit. He doesn’t need our strength because He is the strong one.
In fact, our strength most often gets in the way. It deceives us into thinking we can get along just fine on our own. It makes us think that we can at least get part way to heaven on our own steam and then rely on Jesus for the final stretch of the journey.
Jesus avoided the proud, the religious, and the strong. He worked to avoid them, and when He couldn’t avoid them He tried to drive them away through strong words and confrontation.
And so Paul says that he boasts only in his weakness, because God is strong in his weakness.
This reminds me of a story…
Youth leader, just needed some tweaking in one area…
Vs.
Broken heroin addict of 20 years, in straight from the gutter — dramatic transformation
Conclusion
Don’t fool yourself. God doesn’t need your strength. In fact, it is probably getting in your way. Your works, apart from Christ, are filthy rags to God. Not just unhelpful, but gross.
Let the gospel so saturate your thinking that you begin to look at your weaknesses like Paul did, and the way God does. Each one is an opportunity for the redemption of Jesus to be displayed. And conversely, repent of your pride in thinking that you are going to meet God halfway. You can’t even get started without Him.
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