Power made perfect in weakness

I'm currently reading Malcolm Gladwell's latest book David and Goliath. It's a fascinating read. In the first section he talks about how more and more of something is not necessarily the best thing but that an inverted "U" curve points to something more optimal, including wealth and school class size. As an engineer and modeler it makes sense to me as I often run into "U" curves that indicate a sweet spot for something.

In the second section he talks about "The Theory of Desirable Difficulty" and discusses how certain impediments and disabilities can work to your advantage in the long run. He talks about the fact that a lot of entrepreneurs are dyslexic and gives a compelling argument that their dyslexia was a big part of making them entrepreneurial!

At the start of the section he quotes the following verses from the Bible:

I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10

This morning I went to the local Wesleyan church to worship and the topic of the sermon was exactly the same scripture! The speaker challenged us to think about the "thorn in my flesh" that God has given us that drives us to Him and makes us depend on Him. She said it could be a physical condition, a temptation or some other difficulty in life.

For me it's either my bad sense of humour or my mental state. More likely it's the latter, as the former is more of a thorn for everyone else around me! Over the past couple of years I've slowly discovered that I don't handle stress very well. It started with a panic attack about two years ago (thankfully the only one I've had, but not fun), followed by stomach and throat issues - the doctor called it NERD, no joke - then mild heart arrhythmias last winter and finally insomnia, particularly when I had a month-long stint living alone in Singapore this summer. I remember my mum having stress related stomach issues and taking early retirement in part due to stress, I think, and as I take after my mum in many ways, it's not completely surprising that I have similar leanings.

Adding them all up I think I've had 8 out of the 11 physical symptoms of stress listed on webmd though surprisingly few of the emotional, cognitive or behavioral symptoms. You could argue that the British stiff-upper-lip means I hide things well, or maybe I just didn't notice the other symptoms!! I'd like to suggest another possibility, which is that God is the one keeping me sane! I honestly think that without God's hand on me and the Holy Spirit in me, I'd be in the loony bin or worse already. I've heard folks say that religion is for the weak-minded. In a way, I agree, because I see the fragility of my own mind and I'm extremely thankful for Christ taking hold of my weak mind to make me strong in Him (at least outwardly to others). The worst thing you can do is delude yourself that you've got it all together and don't need God at all. The best thing is to admit your weakness and let Him make you strong.

So, what's your weakness and how can God make you strong through it?

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