The Paradox of Persecution

One thing struck me from this devotional, and it was in a reference included in the Insight:

⁹But 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. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"For when I am weak, then I am strong."

This is counter-intuitive, surely?

As a Christian of more than thirty years I am well used to apparant contradictions in the Bible, and in every instance it is a matter of context.

But ... what does this mean for me?

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia four years ago, and live with chronic pain on a daily basis. I can certainly relate to being weak, but how does this make me strong?

This is my conclusion: It doesn't.

The apostle Paul does not say that he becomes stronger, but that he gains strength from Christ. ("... so that Christ's power may rest on me.")

So, when we are weak, if we rely on Him, then we gain His strength, and then, and only then, are we strong.