True Spiritual Power
“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.”
—2 Corinthians 12:9
God’s process for spiritual growth is upside down. Instead of focusing on spiritual greatness and elitism, God is concerned with the humility of our hearts.
You see it all the time in Christianity. We elevate the talented, gifted, and charismatic, not considering that Christ said in Matthew 20:16 NLT, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” There’s no reason to downplay the giftings of others, but we ought to remember that our spiritual success comes not from what we do. It comes from how much we let God work in our hearts.
Weakness is the stage for God to develop us into his likeness.
Weakness is surrendering to God’s process of pruning and transformation. If we hold onto pride and measure our spirituality based on the things we’ve done, we are actually resisting the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
It’s easy enough to convince ourselves that we are spiritually strong. All we have to do is corner ourselves in a faith community where we can meet the general standard with minimal effort. We can denounce other faith movements as heretical, emotional, or outright demonic. We can assume that spiritual depth is only for pastors and missionaries and accept that we will never grow much past where we currently are.
Paul, one of the greatest Christians ever, describes what true spiritual maturity looks like. It looks like being a broken mess before God. Despite all his accomplishments in the faith, Paul was left with only more surrender and more weakness.
As it turns out, weakness is the reward.
Weakness and humility are the keys to spiritual greatness. Not wisdom, knowledge, talent, accomplishments, wealth, appearances, or great theology. Weakness is the only way we can walk under the power of God.
There is no human accomplishment that will attract the power of God. I’ve seen so many believers pressing harder and harder to beat down the door of heaven and gain spiritual authority, not realizing that it’s the contrite heart that God desires.
Do you want to live in the power of God? You can’t hold it, claim it, earn it, or master it. You can only receive it. The Father is looking for humble souls to carry the power of Christ.
Will he find such weakness in you?
God, I surrender to you today. I hand over my desire for greatness to receive a humble spirit. I would rather have nothing and have you than gain the whole world and lose your Spirit. Point out any area in my heart that I am resisting your pruning. Find me humble, meek, and desperate for your presence. Work through me by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
