Power in Weakness

Meditations for Ragamuffins 

July 6, 2023

Power in Weakness

 

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,   Sē’lah

Psalm 67:1 NRSV

Brennan Manning received international acclaim for his marvelous ability to communicate the incomprehensible grace of God. Near the end of his active ministry, Manning was asked what he thought was his greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God. The questioner listed many of Manning’s best-selling books, his seminars and his work as a spiritual director, and asked which of these accomplished the most good? Manning replied, “Not long ago I encountered an old priest with a drinking problem. I confessed to him, “Just a few years ago, I was a hopeless alcoholic in the gutter in Ft. Lauderdale.” The old priest replied, “You? Oh, thank God!”

Abba’s words to Saint Paul remind us that it is not our strength or accomplishments that do the most good, but our shared weakness: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). I have had the opportunity to speak in spiritual retreats many times. When preparing my talks, I always struggle with how much personal information to share. I am a very private person and sharing personal information does not come easily for me. However, without fail, I am most connected with my audience, and I am more effectively used by God as His vessel of grace when I allow His power to work through my weakness.

The Apostle Paul learned this lesson well. In his letter to the Philippians, he shared his personal history and many accomplishments and concluded they were utterly worthless compared to knowing Christ. Everything Paul said about forgetting the past and pressing on to know Christ is grounded on Jesus’ promised blessing: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3 NRSV).

My Takeaway: I most often experience God being gracious to me and blessing me and making his face to shine upon me when I share with others how God’s power is working through my weakness.

Sē’lah

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This series of meditations are inspired by the writings of Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, and many other books.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.