Galatians 4:14
“and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.”
We all have our insecurities, the parts of us that we wish we could change. These are the areas that can make our teen years difficult. We attempt to compensate in many ways to hide it.
Paul is very aware of his. He refers to it many times in scripture. We aren't sure what it was. Some say it was bad eyesight. A couple chapters later in 6:11, he says, "See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand." Some speculate that when Paul had the vision of Jesus in Acts 9, is when he acquired this. He lost his sight and regained it. Others think he may have gotten this when he was stoned or beaten multiple times (2 Corinthians 11).
This condition bothered Paul as he prayed multiple times for it to be taken from him (2 Corinthians 12:8). We understand this as we also work hard to be rid of our deficits. Some of us go to great lengths. Some develop careers by hard work to remedy. While this is partially positive, these are usually workaholics who put too much into this pursuit at the expense of relationships. There are a myriad of ways we seek to compensate for this lack. We all have our own story.
Paul received an interesting answer from God about his problem. Here it is, 'And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me', (2 Corinthians 12:9). "My grace is sufficient for you. This is a difficult but wonderful response. Difficult because the answer was "no".
On some level this was difficult for Paul. He prayed three times for it to be gone. It was interfering with his life. Certainly on a physical, but probably on other levels as well. We have our own issues. Some may not have permanent struggles like Paul. They may have circumstantial ones that go in and out of their lives. Whatever the case, our human condition is troublesome.
The second part of God's response is the wonderful promise that the Lord gives to anyone who comes to Him, "for power is perfected in weakness". This may seem difficult to understand, but God is all powerful and all wise, so it's no problem for Him. Romans 8:28 gives us more insight, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. This is hopeful, but also mysterious, as we can't see how our issues could ever work for good.
That's the wonder of God. He does see it and He greatly wishes to aid us in our struggles. His great love for us, causes Him grief as He sees us struggle. The Lord reaches out to us all the time to lure us to Him. Unless we are a believer who knows His ways, most don't recognize these signs. But they are there.
I know this is a negative example, but those that have seen Star Wars know that the Death Star Has a gravitational field called the tractor beam. John 12:32 says that Jesus calls all of us to Him. He does this in thousands of ways. Life's circumstances are big ones. He works through other people, He can whisper thoughts or impressions and so on.
We can choose to accept these invitations or to reject them. To further the analogy, this gravitational pull is like a million rubber bands. When we ignore or postpone these godly invitations, we break one of the bands. Which means that the pull becomes less and less. Eventually we won't feel them.
Hebrews 3:15 says, 'As it is said: "Today if you should hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion."' To ignore these invitations is to harden one's heart. It becomes callous and unfeeling. These god senses deaden. The invitations are still there, we no longer sense them.
We want to be the ones who respond to God. We want our hearing to become better in time. We want to become closer to Him. Our weaknesses could aid in that process. We should become more dependent on Him.
Lord, even though our weaknesses cause us pain, You use them to help us. You comfort and assist us. Help us to rely on You more and more. Thank You that You want to do this. We aren't seen as needy pathetic ones. Thank You.