Apparent weakness
Paul in the Second Letter to the Corinthians
It affirms that a powerful inner force emerges when we are in weakness. Therefore, weakness is not an obstacle but an opportunity to gain great spiritual strength.
Weakness drives us to seek the strength and resources to develop the skills to overcome the challenges.
Paul teaches us to accept our vulnerabilities to transform them into strength to adapt to new circumstances.
Join us
Inexhaustible force as apparent weakness
If we want to live a life with inexhaustible strength, with unshakable faith and unimaginable power, we just have to find the way to be victorious.
This strength can present itself in many forms, sometimes even as an apparent weakness, from which to redeem oneself by gaining more strength. However the most important weakness is the one we experience in the spiritual life. Suffering, difficulties, adversities are part of life itself and we have to face them on a daily basis.
God commands us to be strengthened in the Lord because, in order to overcome trials and the battle against the flesh, we need a strength that is not in ourselves: our strength alone is not enough, we are small, miserable and too weak to fight physical and spiritual combat; if we believe we are winning by ourselves it is because we have been deceived by our pride.
Here is what Paul writes: «I therefore take pleasure in infirmities, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10); and at the same time, in the Letter to the Ephesians, he clarifies: «draw strength in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist".
(Eph 6:10).
It is therefore from God that we must ask for the gift of fortitude. Not by chance, during his work of evangelization in the midst of the Corinthians, Paul mentions this physical weakness of his, speaking of it humanly to underline how no one is spared. However, he grasps something extraordinary, he discovers the energy of the Risen One who transforms weakness into strength, and he finds this energy in God's love: "he loved me and gave himself up for me"; it is God who made him strong in love, and nothing and no one will be able to separate him from this love.
Paul understood how the difficult circumstances of his life taught him a profound truth: God needs your weakness to transform it into strength. Here is the challenge for all of us: to use all the resources we have to fix, recompose, remove and overcome life's challenges, strengthening the spirit through strength drawn directly from God.
Paolo has an organic and overall vision of health: if the foot is sick, the whole body suffers. Therefore, it is not a question of simply saving one's soul, the health of the entire human family is at stake, therefore it is also necessary to have a sensitivity for the groaning of creation, which also nourishes the desire to be freed and to enter into salvation definitively, in the freedom of the children of God.
Instead, especially in today's society, where the efficient and utilitarian culture is dominant, the weak and the sick are little tolerated: pain and suffering block people, who do not see its meaning and remain victims of their consequent and oppressive weakness.
But how can we have access to the power of God? By reading, listening, meditating, remembering and obeying the teachings that we can find in the Gospel. It will be the words that we will find here that will strengthen our soul through wisdom: they will give us the joy, light and strength we were looking for.
We can also receive the strength of God through adoration, because when our heart opens to the adoration of God, something certain happens: adoration fills our hearts with the greatness of God, lifts us up in spirit and frees our soul to sing, as in the psalms, «Rise up, O Lord, in your strength; we will sing and celebrate your might."
How many times have we waited for God's intervention and this wait turned into impatience. We are not used to waiting, because we live in a hectic world where everything has to happen now. On the contrary, we must not allow this frenzy to contaminate our soul: we need calm, trust and perseverance, waiting for God to measure our faith also through our patient waiting. If we are faithful, He will not disappoint us.
Only God is the source of our strength, He gives power to the weak and supports him in every adversity, as Isaiah reminds us when he writes: «Fear not, for I am with you; do not be lost, for I am your God; I strengthen you, I help you, I sustain you with the right hand of my justice".
(Is. 41:10).
Who, faced with a sick person who suffers, a child who smiles, a star that shines in the dark night or a drop of dew that evaporates at dawn, does not feel his heart melt? In those moments, even if gripped by his own weakness, even if forced by the rigidity of his feelings, he sees the openings of hope, even in the most desperate situations.
We must not be afraid, we must not let ourselves be overwhelmed by the "storms of life", we must not feel overwhelmed by problems or circumstances: people faithful to God will not be abandoned by Him! God is present in the life of those who belong to him! God does not go on vacation: even in trials, in the most extreme difficulties he is and remains with the faithful, he is present in their lives and will do the right thing because he is the Almighty!
Those who worship God may therefore find Paul's words “when I am weak, then I am strong” reassuring, reminding us that God will give us the strength we need to face difficulties and do His will.
If you want to strengthen your soul, get in touch with the voice of God by reading and meditating on his word: you must find a calm and isolated place, to let go of everyday thoughts and open your heart to his voice. Thus you will be ready to turn to him in that intimate dialogue which is prayer, a river through which his strength will flow generously and savingly in your life.
