Strength in Weakness

‘But it is better this way.’ I was surprised to hear those words from my friend Abe, who had just been diagnosed with a disease that could be fatal. At first, he had been devastated to hear that diagnosis. But after he had struggled with it and put his life in God’s hands, he was able to say, ‘But it is better this way.’ Though my friend was not glad about his illness, he was grateful to be reminded daily how fragile life is and that he is constantly in need of God’s grace and care.

The apostle Paul expresses similar thoughts about his ‘thorn in the flesh’. Whatever the thorn was, he had considered it a hindrance to him in his work for the Lord and had prayed for God to remove it. But the Lord’s response was, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Paul eventually came to realise that, in some ways, ‘It is better this way.’ God’s power is manifested more fully when we recognise our weakness and dependence.

It has been about 45 years since my friend Abe shared the sobering news about his illness. This year Abe turned 90, sustained all these years—physically and spiritually—by the grace and love of God.