2 Corinthians 12:9 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

The Christian life is filled with paradoxes, because though we are in the world, we are not of it, and there is a fundamental disconnect there. From the Sermon on the Mount on, Jesus regularly said things that conflicted with human logic, and here He is doing it again to Paul. Thankfully, for us and for Paul, he received it, not hanging on to human reasoning but accepting that God is above all of that. The thing is, God is so far above our experience and our ability that there is no comparison. That’s why faith is essential. God doesn’t tell us to discard logic and intellect, but He does tell us to submit those things to Him in the understanding that He is far above them all. After all, He is the Creator, who spoke the universe into being! That’s why, in the final analysis, letting go of our claims to strength and ability in order for His strength and ability to be manifested is the most logical thing in the world! As has been pointed out, in the Kingdom of God the way up is down, and those who lead or rule must serve. It is only when we grasp how much more powerful God is than we are that we can let go of all our pride and allow Him to operate through us.

I keep coming back to how mired in pride I once was, but at the same time I keep realizing that I have vestiges of that pride still left. I have never been what I considered a “muscle man,” but I have generally been able to do everything that I was called on to do. At 76, I am finding that I can’t necessarily do everything I call on myself to do! Just recently my younger daughter was pointing out that the first step in “12-step programs” is to realize that you are powerless. I’ve never been involved in such a program, but that’s very much in keeping with this verse. Up until now my pride issues have been largely intellectual, but now the Lord is dealing with physical presumption that I didn’t realize I had. This particular verse is in connection with what we would call a medical issue. Those are never fun, but they are certainly reminders that we don’t control our own destiny. I am to be a good steward of the body I have been given, taking in only what I need and is good for me and declining both excess and unhealthy things, but in the final analysis, God is in control. At the moment I am still under treatment for a kidney stone (ureteral calculus), and this week I will have a full physical exam, which the Japanese call a “human dock,” as in putting a ship into drydock. I have already outlived my father by over a dozen years, so I want to be as available as possible to my Lord for as long as He has work for me to do here. If His power is flowing through me, then anything is possible!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You’re allowing me to experience, and for the good Japanese medical system and insurance system that are benefiting me at this point. Help me truly rest, relax, and rejoice in You as You have told me to do, so that Your power may indeed flow through me for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!