Gathering Strength in God

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Elisa Morgan, and I titled our reading, Gathering Strength in God. Granger McCoy is an artist who studies and sculpts birds, capturing their grace and vulnerability and power. One of his pieces is titled Recovery.

It shows the single right wing of a pintailed duck stretched high in a vertical position. Below, a plaque describes the bird's recovery stroke as the moment of the bird's greatest weakness in flight, yet also the moment when it gathers strength for the journey ahead. Granger includes this verse from 2 Corinthians chapter 12. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the church at Corinth. Enduring a season when he was overwhelmed with personal struggle, Paul begged God to remove what he described as a thorn in my flesh. His affliction might have been a physical ailment or spiritual opposition. Like Jesus in the garden the night before his crucifixion, Paul repeatedly asked God to remove his suffering. The Holy Spirit responded by assuring him that he'd provide the strength needed. Paul learned, when I am weak, then I'm strong.

Oh, the thorns we experience in this life. Like a bird gathering its strength for the journey ahead, we can gather up God's strength for what we're facing. In his strength, we find our own.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 2 through 10. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, 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. Let's pray. Dear God, help us gather our strength from Your strength as we face what's ahead of us in our lives today. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Thanks for listening today. My name is Elisa Morgan, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.