Strong Only When I Am Weak

2 Corinthians 12:9
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.
It seems so contrary to common sense, so opposite in every way, and yet that is how the Kingdom of God is.  The last shall be first, he who serves will lead, and we are strong only when we are bereft of all of our power.  The last thing we ever want to appear is weak, and yet, that is the only way in which God can actually endue us with His power.
If we are full from eating a big meal, we have no room to fit in any more food.  If our closet is stuffed with clothing, we have no place to add any garments.  If we are living off of our own puny strength, there is no room for God’s supernatural strength to work in our life.
We are afraid of failure, and yet it is failure that makes us call out to Him.  We become paralyzed with guilt and remorse after we sin, and yet our sorrow is meant to lead us to repentance.  God knows we are not sinless, but He calls us to be perfect – to accomplish that for which He has created each of us, but only through HIS power (not our own). In God’s world, failure due to living by our own abilities, intelligence, emotions and reason is just a stepping stone for Him to prove to us how real, powerful and loving He is, and to build up our faith in His abilities and trustworthiness.
We can boast in how wretchedly weak we are when left to our own devices ONLY if we can simultaneously boast about how powerful God’s strength has proven to be in us.  Being a failure or weak without calling out to God to pour His power into us is just insanity.  We fail because we don’t have the power NOT to fail. We will fail every time doing things in our own strength.
However, we must use our failures as pivots to turn us back to God, crying out for Him to pour His Spirit to overflow in our empty vessels.  Acknowledge your weaknesses and failures, but don’t accept them as your destiny.  His grace is your destiny, and it is more than sufficient to get you through each and every situation and lead you to victory.