His Encouragement: Perfect in weakness

His Encouragement: Perfect in weakness

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This post is part of the series His Encouragement

Other posts in this series:

  1. His Encouragement: Biblical Inspiration for your Thursday
  2. His Encouragement: Psalm 147:3
  3. His Encouragement: Psalm 37:3

Welcome! Welcome, dearest friends, to His Encouragement: Biblical Inspiration for Your Thursday. Every week, I join a few blogging friends to bring you a Bible passage and a little hope-filled discussion. We pray that these devotionals help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you.

Today’s Scripture

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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV

In our last Thursday encouragement post, we discussed how to truly know God, we must love others. Today we are continuing with that train of thought by taking a quick look at 2 Corinthians 12:9.

God calls us to love others as much as we care for ourselves even though it does not come naturally and easily to us in our sinful condition.

Whether by personality or life experiences, many of us go about our lives in a self-centered manner. Some people focus on satisfying desires or greed at the expense of others. Others may be “looking after number one” as a defensive mechanism after being hurt by someone else in some way.

Few people many to grow old with a genuinely kind, selfless heart of their own doing. Since Adam and Eve’s origin sin, people – each of us – are born with an inclination to selfishness.

Nature vs nurture

In a high school class, I remember the teacher facilitating a debate on whether we become who were are through nature or nurture. Many years later, as a mother of three children, I can say that it is both.

Our innate nature is fundamentally flawed. At the same time, each of us has a unique personality and inclinations, which means we don’t all act and react the same way. Therefore, we are also molded by our environment: our upbringing, our life experiences, our decisions, etc.

So how can we love others as the Lord commands us when we have so much against us?

It is through God’s power

We cannot love others through our own power and strength. It is through God’s power and His alone that we can move passed the jaded lens of our nature or life experiences and see others as the Lord sees them: precious.

After all, “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God knows our flaws and our weaknesses, and He still chooses to work through us… if we allow Him to.

God is clear: “…my power is made perfect in weakness”. So give your weakness over to the Lord and let Him perfect you. It is in that way that we are able to learn to love others.

What verse has touched your heart this week? Share in the comments below!

Be sure to also visit my fellow bloggers and read their encouragement for your Thursday as well:

Hi there, blogger. Would you like to join us in sharing encouragement from the Word of God every Thursday? Don’t be shy! Contact Trisha or Nicole today!

His Encouragement for Your Thursday, a devotional.

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