"Jesus said to me, "My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you." So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ's power can live in me."
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NCV)
Paul discovered the secret to dealing with the unpleasant things in life. He decided to treat his weakness and difficulties as a gift from God. He could do this because he realized the weaker he became, the more he had to depend on God's strength. Paul asked God to take away his weakness, but God chose to leave it. Paul's weakness strengthened his relationship with God. God did not take Paul's difficulties away; God helped Paul deal with them.
Difficulties and challenges are a good thing; they are opportunities to allow God to do things he wouldn't otherwise do. You may face difficulties in your life that you wish God would just take away. God may supply what you nee to make it through your difficulties rather than remove them. For example, a father will take his child to the doctor and allow that child to be given what appears to the child as a big, painful shot. From first hand experience, I'm absolutely terrified of needles. A child, like myself, would not understand why his father allowed someone to hurt him until he was older and realizes that shots can make you well or keep you from getting sick. Remember that God sees beyond your moment of suffering.
When you ask for God's help, you gain the chance to see all the things he can do. Take your difficulties and weaknesses to God in prayer. Ask him to use them in a way that reveals his strength and greatness.
You may think of your point of weakness as the last place where God can work through your life. Have you ever considered the possibility that it might be the precise spot where God plans to work? Commit even your weaknesses and failures to God's good work.
