II Corinthians 11
23: Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. 24Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters;* 27in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. 28And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. 29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

At the end of his life, as Paul looks back on the extraordinary ministry recorded in the book of Acts, he takes a curious perspective on the many twists and turns, the countless difficulties and struggles he encountered. He writes a fractious and difficult congregation in Corinth, a congregation that thinks they have everything figured out, and their act together, and says “you don’t know anything about being a true minister of the Gospel – a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Look at my life if you want to get a clue… in my brokenness and in my difficulties God worked miracles. The weaker I became, the more God used me. Your arrogance and your pride - your certainty about what is right and what God demands – these things will keep you from usefulness in the Kingdom of God.”

I do not pray for danger, for physical hardship or for persecution – not for me or for our church. But Paul reminds us that our weakest places are often the seat of God’s greatest activity. May God take our weaknesses and wrap them in mercy, strength and hope.

God, we would rest on our own strength and ability. We prefer not to expose our weakness and fear. Help us to learn from Paul. Help us to allow you to work in our weakest places, and in our darkest hours. In Jesus’ name. AMEN