brusk's Journal

I’ve been pondering a familiar scripture portion and wondering if anybody believes it. Look at 2 Cor. 12:9-10:

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

First I researched (blueletterbible.org) the details of the weaknesses mentioned in verse 10. “Infirmities” includes both body (sickness) and soul (depression?). “Reproaches” (hubris) means suffering injury because of another person’s insolence or insult. “Needs” include circumstances or duties that involve distress and difficulty. We all know what “persecution” is, although we don’t experience much of it. And finally, “distresses” describes being in a narrow place of calamity or extreme affliction. These may be some of the most miserable circumstances any of us can imagine or experience.

How could this man Paul claim that he chose to boast in these awful experiences? Implicit in the use of the words “take pleasure” in verse 10 is the idea of deciding or determining that they are good for him. In other words, it didn’t come naturally to him to judge these experiences as valuable. But when Jesus Himself told him that his weaknesses and hardships would make his faith stronger and that His own power would rest on him as a result, Paul believed it.

Now I have to think about what this means for us.