A Daily Devotion for Wednesday, January 11

2 Corinthians 7b-10

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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.

We never do find out the details of Paul's "thorn." He believes it to be straight from Satan, intended to "torment" him. The result is Paul feeling weakened, less than perfectly equipped to continue his work. But Paul realizes, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that God sees our weaknesses and provides us more strength at just those times. When we are imperfect (always) God provides all that we need. When we come to God, admitting our weaknesses, we are given what we need.

Holy Lord, I come to you this morning after reading these words. I am certainly imperfect in my humanness. There are times I want to give up those things that require so much strength from me. But I am forgetting the strength you have promised. Help me to remember to turn to you when I am overwhelmed. Amen

Becky, transforming