Grace in Weakness

 The Gift of the Thorn

“But the Lord 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 

The apostle Paul, though entrusted with divine revelations and heavenly visions, lived with a persistent, unnamed affliction—a “thorn in the flesh” that caused deep anguish (2 Corinthians 12:7). We’re not told exactly what it was, and that silence invites each of us to bring our own thorns—our pain, limitations, struggles—into this story. Paul prayed earnestly for the thorn to be removed, but God did not take it away. Instead, He gave Paul something better: the promise of sustaining grace. “My grace is sufficient for you,” the Lord said, “for my power is made perfect in weakness.” This response shifted Paul’s perspective: rather than seeing the thorn as a hindrance, he came to see it as a holy place of encounter.

Paul’s declaration, “When I am weak, then I am strong,” is a paradox that defines the Christian life (2 Corinthians 12:10). It reminds us that our greatest strength lies not in our independence but in our utter dependence on God. The presence of the thorn becomes the occasion for intimacy with God, a daily dependence that produces humility, perseverance, and character. Like Paul, we discover that weakness is not the absence of God’s favor, but the stage where His power is most vividly displayed. God uses our trials not to break us, but to reveal His power through our brokenness. In the world’s eyes, weakness disqualifies—but in God’s economy, weakness  becomes the very platform for divine power. As J.I. Packer once said, “The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually.”

Our thorns may never fully leave us, but they don’t have the last word—grace does. Isaiah reminds us, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29). Even in the midst of weakness, hardship, or unanswered prayers, Jesus becomes our sure foundation, the One who meets us in our frailty and walks with us through it. Like Paul, we are invited not just to endure weakness, but to boast in it, because it is the sacred place where Christ’s power rests on us. His grace isn’t only amazing—it is enough.

Prayer 

Lord, thank You that I do not need to be strong on my own. Your grace is sufficient. Your power is made perfect in my weakness. Be my foundation, my strength, and my peace today. Amen.