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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
William Whewell (1794-1866), an English Philosopher, scientist and theologian once said, “Every failure, is a step to success.” It does not feel like that though, does it? Often, when we fail, we are consumed by disappointment, frustration, and shame, because we have been socialized to believe that only success is worthy. We laud and celebrate success in every sphere of life, but there is often a reprimand or deafening silence when it comes to failure even though we know that children must first learn to crawl and will often fall (that is “fail”), before they can walk and then run.
The Rev. Tony Evans (Called for a Purpose, (Oregon: Harvest, 2018, 65) tells the story of a young banker who wanted to know the reason behind his bank president’s very successful career. One day the two met and the younger asked the older: “What made you become so successful?”
“Good decisions,” the bank president said.
Wanting more detail the young man asked, “How can one make good decisions?”
“Experience,” the older man replied.
The younger man continued, “How can one gain experience?”
The older man replied, “Bad decisions.”
At some point in life, if we have not done so already, we will make bad decisions. These decisions will be the foundation blocks for our growth. How we respond to the setbacks will determine our success. The apostle Paul admits that he too had to deal with setbacks which he refers to here as “weaknesses.” He reminds the Corinthians, that God’s grace is sufficient for moments of weakness (failure). In fact, God’s power is perfected in weakness so that no one should take credit for what God has done, not even Paul himself.
Paul endured human weakness just like us, yet God showed his power when he made him an apostle and Christian leader. Maybe it is true after all, that it is not what we know, but who we know that makes a meaningful difference in life. Do you know Jesus? Knowing him intimately, is the ace up our sleeve. So let us honor God, not by boasting in our own knowledge, experience, and strength, but in our weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on us. And as we strive to succeed, let us perceive our moments of failure as an opportunity to learn, grow, and experience the miracle of God’s power in every area of our lives, and in our work.
This week, let us stay the course under God’s guidance. He is still working on us, and his grace is sufficient.