April 21, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“But God 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.”

(2 Corinthians 12.9)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Let’s be clear, God did not say He was made perfect in His weakness but in ours. We might stop and consider here “What is our weakness?” We all have places in our lives where being strong is not a happening thing. The list for the world’s weaknesses is long. Power, control, money, wealth, lust and jealousy are but a few of the weaknesses in which we seek to either overcome by false strengths believing we can do all things. That would be a weakness as well. Thinking that our lives are determined by our weaknesses and seeking to hide them or avoid situations where they become exposed is a weakness. Devoting our time and energy to fulfilling them as if satisfying that hunger to be what we are not or what others might perceive us as being according to a weakness is a weakness. The thought that since we cannot do it alone and on our own we must be weak is a weakness. The very biblical truth which states, “For all have sinned and fallen short of what God has intended” helps us to understand that sin makes us weak. It is a strange thing how sin accomplishes that. Sin does not attack our weaknesses but our strengths. Sin isolates us from the whole of who we are and invites us to focus on what we do well as a sign of our identity and independence. Our true identity is in Christ. Remember, “God made Him who was without sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5.21) By false accusation, Jesus was denied to be the Christ and crucified for being a sinner. In making Himself weak, becoming flesh to dwell among us, and making Himself the servant of all (“He came to serve and not to be served.” – Matthew 20.28), He became strong showing His total dependence on God’s will, mercy and grace. Even Paul’s lament for being “the greatest sinner,” (yes, it smacks to me of a bit of arrogance) pales in comparison to the truth that on the cross Jesus showed Himself to be the greatest sinner of all. He was that because He made Himself weak, surrendering His all to God and leaving Himself to be a vessel to take on the fullest consequence of sin which is death and total separation from God. In His willingness to submit to God for us, the world saw Him as weak…except for one. In his moment of truth and true weakness, the penitent thief beheld the power of innocence submitted on His own terms and speaking not against His accusers but for them. It was an uncommon voice for such a time as that and it spoke volumes to those who heard it. Others would hear it later following the resurrection and look back upon His words with gladness and humility. The penitent thief heard it in the only moment left for him- the moment of weakness facing death without hope. In Jesus’ death, he found hope. In that confession of truth, he found blessing, forgiveness and acceptance. God’s strength of mercy and grace with so great a love was made perfect in His “weakness,” the weakness of humbling Himself to set aside judgment over all sinners and pronounce victory for all those who knew the truth of their sin and its penalty but dared to believe in the goodness of God.

As should we all!

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.