Christianity is a crutch for the weak. We don't like to think of ourselves as being weak, we'd much rather consider ourselves strong, able to fight, and willing to endure the pain. We'd prefer that when others see us, they would be amazed at our ability to stay strong. 

Christianity isn't for the strong, it's for the weak. It's a crutch for those who don't have the strength to stand up on their own. It's the healing for those who were unable to limp through the suffering. It's the medicine for those sickened by sin. 

@@Christianity is not about strong people getting stronger, it's about the God who comes for the weak.@@ It's about Jesus coming in weakness to meet us in our own. 

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul writes, "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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Grace is sufficient. It's enough. 

The birth of Jesus is enough. The death of Jesus is enough. The resurrection of Jesus is enough. In the work of Jesus, you have everything you need. No matter what you face, no matter what you need - grace is sufficient. In your weakness, Jesus is strong.  

Which leads Paul to brag, "I will boast about my weakness."

The only reason that Paul can make such a bold claim is that he understands weakness. @@Weakness requires dependance.@@ Strong people don't need any help. But a weak person can't survive without the other person. 

When a baby is born, a baby is born in weakness - unable to survive without the work of his parents. A baby has no choice but to depend on somebody else. When you're sick, in order to get better you depend on somebody else. You find somebody who can make the right diagnosis, recommend the right treatment, and give you the right medicine. 

We can boast about our weakness because in our weakness we are taught to depend on God. When we realize we aren't as strong as we thought, we finally depend on the only one who is sufficient. 

This is why so often the moments of greatest growth in your faith are not the moments when everything is going well. The moments of pain and hurt and suffering are moments that teach us to depend. Weakness causes us to question, "God, why haven't you shown up yet? Why aren't you answering my prayers?"  

These moments are places of growth because when we are weak we have nowhere else to turn than Jesus. When we have nowhere else to go, Jesus meets us there. And his grace is enough. 

In the insults, grace is enough. In the hardships, grace is enough. In the persecution, grace is enough. In the difficulties of life, grace is enough. Grace is sufficient to cover the worst of sins and to withstand the most powerful attacks. 

Where is it that you find yourself weak? Weak because of your inability to have victory over sin. Weak because you're not strong enough to overcome the devil's attacks. Weak because your'e tired and hurt. Weak because you've been through too much. 

Paul says, "His power is made perfect in weakness." 

@@Jesus doesn't wait for you to get strong, he meets you in your weakness.@@ He doesn't wait for you to defeat what overpowers you, he fights for you. His power is made perfect in weakness. His power is completed in weakness. 

His power, "it is finished," in weakness.  Jesus' words in his moment of greatest weakness are sufficient for us in our moment of greatest weakness.