+“For When I am Weak, Then I am Strong”

Kelly SteinhausJourney Church3/23/14

+Trek up Mount Kilimanjaro

+2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

And He has 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. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Grace = “karis” = undeserved favor

Sufficient = “arkeo” – to ward off, possessed w/ unfailing strength

Power = “dunamis” – continuous activity or change

Made perfect = “teleo” – to bring to end, complete a process

Rest on me = Pitch a tent and dwell in/upon, remain with

+2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

And He has 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. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

“You need nothing more than God’s grace, because His resurrection power is completing a process in you. Therefore, rejoice in your powerlessness, because as your weakness increases, God’s power grows and dwells within you”

+The real purpose of hardship and suffering

Trials are formative – God is teaching you something you can’t learn otherwise

Sanctification – become more like Jesus

CS Lewis – “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”

Footprints in the Sand

St John of the Cross - “If one wishes to be sure of the road he travels on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark”

+When life is hard, where do you turn?

INWARD? Grit your teeth and bear it in your own power

AWAY? Give up or try to change the circumstances

UPWARD? Invite Christ in Say “Jesus, your grace is sufficient for me. Give me power in

my weakness. Pour your strength through me.”

“Prayer that is irresistible to God is whenever we ask him for the grace, the wisdom, the insight, the knowledge, the courage, the resources to accomplish what He has assigned us to do”

– Terry Fullam

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+Reflection

Picture your greatest weakness

Release that to God, saying, “Thank you that your power is made perfect in my weakness to _________. “

As an act of faith, step forward to put behind your weaknesses and step into God’s strength

Challenge: This week, whenever you feel weak, repeat to yourself, “When I am weak, then I am strong”