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“but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
“Mom, what is your favorite superhero?” a question my youngest daughter asked me as we walked to feed the turtles.
At that moment, I’m not sure I had a great answer for her because I never really thought about who my favorite superhero was.
The Avenger movies are quite popular these days. There are so many it’s hard to keep track of all the Marvel movies starring our childhood superheroes.
Who is your favorite superhero?
Webster defines a superhero as a fictional hero that has extraordinary powers, in other words superhuman powers. The image of being a superhero has swept through our minds since childhood as we imagined ourselves saving the world from the villains. As we became adults, we developed a different image of a superhero. Our superhero within us involves doing everything we can for our families, always being strong and never giving in to or revealing weakness. Being vulnerable has no room within our superhero world – US. I think we have an idea that being vulnerable and being weak limits our abilities to protect ourselves and our families.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9, St Paul tells us that Jesus says “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Jesus tells us that He is enough. He is our superhero but it’s in our weakness that His extraordinary powers are made “PERFECT”.
My life has never been easy. I have always worked hard to achieve the goals I made for myself. I became independent and goal driven at a very young age. My superhero essentially became myself. Jesus was not prominent in my life as a child. Growing up, I had to always be strong for myself, my mom, my sister and brother. As I became a wife and then a mother, being weak and vulnerable was not an option. In the early days of my marriage and motherhood, Jesus was still not the focal point in my life. Reality in my life was that being weak and vulnerable was the opposite of survival.
Today, my world is different. Christ is in my life and although revealing my weakness and vulnerabilities is the scariest thing for me, I know that it is in this weakness that Christ dwells within and makes me strong.
WHY?
- He says so in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. When He says so, I’m certain He means it….
- If I break down what I know of my faith and trust in God, I know that when I am strong, I cannot allow Him to work within me because I am unwilling to surrender myself to Him. It is in my weakness that He does His best work in me. It is in the vulnerabilities that I am most open to surrendering all I am to Him and allowing Him to fill me with all He is.
I wish that made me less afraid of being weak and vulnerable. Simple fact is it doesn’t but I know it is essential in my spiritual growth, especially when it comes to placing my past behind me and moving forward in life. Now, I don’t want you to take away that when we have to be strong against worldly things or defend ourselves against harmful acts that we should be weak and not do what is necessary. I think in those cases, it’s a matter of opening oneself up to surrendering to God to aid in such circumstances to guard us against sin and against harm. I think that is what St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:10 – it is an acceptance, contentment with our weaknesses that allows us to depend on God to be with us in these moments, for Christ to dwell within us, to be our superhero living within. It is in our weakness that we are strong, we are truly a superhero through Christ who gives us strength.
I think if my daughter were to ask me today who my favorite superhero is, I would answer with great clarity that it is JESUS who lives in me and gives me strength to overcome all things.
What about you? Who do you say your favorite superhero is?
Categories: Faith, Hope, Identity in Christ
Women Who Walk By Faith 
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