Weakness and Power in Spiritual Health
Today’s Verse:
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
As we cap off our week reflecting upon spiritual health, today we look at our weaknesses and power of God. In our quest for spiritual health, we often assume it means growing stronger, becoming more capable, and rising above our many flaws. But in this verse, the Lord flips that idea upside down. Paul, burdened by a “thorn in the flesh,” hears Christ say something far better than “you’ll get over it.” Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Here is the gospel truth: Christ meets us not in our strength but in our weakness. It is when we come to the end of ourselves—when we can no longer pretend we have it all together—that we begin to experience the real, sustaining power of God. The power that forgives, renews, and holds us in His grace.
Luther understood this well. He taught that God works through what is hidden and lowly. The cross, not the throne, is the place where God’s greatest strength is revealed. And so, our spiritual health is not measured by how “strong” we feel, but by how much we cling to the all-sufficient grace of Christ.
Let us, then, boast in our weaknesses—not for their own sake, but because they lead us again and again to the One whose power never fails.
.Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious Lord, when I feel weak, let me not despair, but instead trust in Your all-sufficient grace. Teach me to see my spiritual health not in my performance, but in Your steadfast power and mercy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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