Do you ever find yourself taking the part of an underdog? It can be easy to feel sorry for the disadvantaged. At times we may feel compelled to take the part of a helpless child, a battered spouse, or an innocent victim. Sometimes these are moments when heroes are raised up while doing the impossible after witnessing the un- thinkable. Other times the hero is charged with a crime because they got involved trying to defend the defenseless. Now we have a new underdog to root for!
Then there are moments when intervention would not be helpful. I can recall hatching chickens in an incubator as a little boy. A hard lesson was learned when I decided to help some chicks peck out of their shell. My intervention caused them to be born weak or lame because their process of proper development was interrupted.
The Scriptures are replete with insights into the lives of those who were just as human as we are. We can read of their weaknesses and struggles. There were those who failed and gave up. But there were also those who relied on God’s wisdom and strength and found that He was the key ingredient. Throughout Bible history to the present, God uses heroes who are “flawed.”
We all face life as underdogs! The Devil is our chief enemy. The good news is that we are not alone. Every child of God has a resource avail- able which is far superior to anything the enemy of our soul can muster up. It is critical that we recognize this and believe God for the help and intervention He has available for us.
Often the world considers trouble to be a terrible intruder into life. A tornado came. Our steeple was toppled, and the damage we had on our campus appeared to be a real omen to some. If we had put our steeple back up in that condition it would have made us all nervous. Often a church is seen as a place where everything is expected to look perfect; it is not seen as a place where we can show up crooked. Right?
But in a fallen, broken world, all of us are “crooked,” each with our own collection of weaknesses. We might be tempted to keep our vulnerabilities under wraps, but Scripture encourages the opposite attitude. We are to confess our faults one to another. Paul suggests that it is in our weaknesses that Christ is most likely to reveal His power. Jesus told Paul, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” So, Paul concluded, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
We may not like our imperfections, but hiding them only denies Jesus’ power to work within those aspects of ourselves. When we invite Jesus into the crooked places in us, He gently mends and redeems in ways our efforts could never accomplish.
For some the problems of life are viewed as nothing more than minus factors. But the Christian perspective of trouble is not pessimistic. Paul experienced a thorn in the flesh, and this weakness made him strong. It was a plus factor for him! He learned how to be strong in the broken places. His weaknesses did not destroy him. With God’s help he gained strength out of his weaknesses. Problems can either keep us down or make us stronger.
Paul had great faith in the Lord. His faith was not just an assent to religious beliefs. His faith was a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. His favorite expression to describe this relationship was “in Christ.” Only a genuine faith in God is adequate during the weaknesses of life. Faith is no casual nod to God. It is allowing God to join our lives.
Paul had two purposes in life. First, he wanted every person to know who Jesus was and accept Him as their Savior. Second, he wanted every believer to be Christlike in thoughts and actions. Paul refused to let the thorn detour him in his purposes. When we are possessed by a greater mission, selfish discomforts become secondary.
Paul was able to help others because of his thorn in the flesh. He knew what it was to suffer, but he also knew what it was to find healing. People who have been hurt and helped prove to be good helpers. If one can now be used of God to come alongside another who has been wounded, there can be no greater fulfillment in life. What seemed like a life that was a total disaster is now deemed a blessing in disguise!
Paul looked beyond the weaknesses to a greater time. The thorn did not cause him to have a pessimistic view of life. Instead, amid his weak- nesses he loved life. Part of his great love for life was his optimistic view of the future. He believed that God would ultimately remove the thorn. “This mortal must put on immortality.”
There is a greater hope for believers. The weaknesses of life may last for a lifetime, but they will not exist in heaven! The child of God will receive a body that is immune from physical and emotional disorders. What a day that will be!
Your steeple may be crooked and the damage in your life may be obvious. But when we invite Jesus into the crooked places in us, He gently mends and redeems in ways our efforts could never accomplish. All is not lost! Why not give God the broken pieces? Better yet, give it all to Him!