Whence comes the strength to stand against overwhelming opposition and suffering and to triumph as Christ’s faithful disciples? Oddly enough, victory comes not through our strength but through our weakness.
When Paul cried out for deliverance from a severe trial, Christ replied that He had allowed that suffering in order to make Paul weak enough so that he would trust only in the Lord, rather than in his great abilities. “My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness,” our Lord promised (2 Corinthians:12:9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
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Paul exhorts us, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians:2:6As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
See All...). Did we not receive Christ in weakness as helpless, hopeless sinners crying out to Him for mercy and grace? That, then, is the way we are to walk this path of triumph in suffering—as sinners saved by grace, weak and helpless in ourselves and trusting totally in Him.
We are earthen vessels, but we contain a great treasure: “that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians:4:7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
See All...). Such is the secret of our triumph over the world, the flesh, and the devil. The load is too heavy for us to carry. What a relief to turn it over to Him! And what a joy to be delivered from the fear of man, from seeking to win the acclaim of this world, from seeking anything but His “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew:25:21His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
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Some manage to amass a fortune to leave to their heirs at death. They seemingly forget that no hearse has a U-Haul trailer attached. Others have little of this earth’s goods but have great and eternal riches laid up in heaven. It takes little wisdom to know who has made the wisest choice and who has been truly successful.