And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses,with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. - II Corinthians 12:9-10

Do you ever feel like you keep hearing the same message over and over from different places?  You might hear something in a church service. Or on a radio show. Or from a friend. Or in your Bible study time. Or in a song. Or from all of these places almost simultaneously.

When that happens I tend to listen. I usually suspect that God is trying to tell me something. Maybe it's something He tried to whisper in my ear. But when I didn't take note right away He had to get a little louder. And yet I still ignored Him. So then He has to BLAST it!! That's how I feel about this verse. It's on my mind everyday...all day. 

So what exactly is He trying to tell me? I think we all apply this verse differently to the circumstances in our lives. But the message is the same. 

For me....my flesh wants to have it all together. To be Super Mom. To have the perfect house, perfectly organized and decorated according to the latest trends on Pinterest. To be the perfect Christian woman and leader. Deep down I want to be someone who people admire. But I think He's trying to tell me that it's okay to feel weak, and insufficient, and overwhelmed at times.  Because He's my All-Sufficient. Because in my weakness I must lean into Him for strength. Because if I truly did have it all together I wouldn't need Him.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we're called to look at life through a different paradigm. Just look at the Sermon on the Mount.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit...

• Blessed are those who mourn...

• Blessed are the gentle...

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...

• Blessed are the merciful...

• Blessed are the pure in heart...

• Blessed are the peacemakers..

• Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness...

• Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, ON ACCOUNT OF ME...

Jesus is urging commanding, us to live a life contrary to the cultural, societal and political norms of this world. The world tells us that we are to be strong, independent, self-sufficient, resourceful, and unrelenting in our search for personal happiness. Just look at our completely egocentric culture! It's all about doing whatever we want to find "happiness" in this life. Now don't start sending me hate mail because you think I said everyone shouldn't be happy. That's not what I'm trying to say. But Jesus says the traits of a truly blessed person are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control. And you can't have those if you only ever aim to please yourself.

Ironically Jesus wants us to embrace our hopelessness apart from Him! To remember that we'll NEVER be good enough to earn our way to heaven. To wholeheartedly believe that without the atoning blood of Jesus Christ we are nothing and will spend an eternity apart from Him.  And that's what I must remember every day as a follower of Jesus Christ. That living in my own power sets me outside of God's grace. That I must constantly acknowledge my dependence on Him so that His power can be perfected in my weakness.