I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, "My grace is enough; it is all you need. My strenth comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness.
Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size - abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-12, The Message.
Our problems, in whatever form - health, finances, conflict, failure, bad breaks - are a gift from God. Of course, we don't want problems. Who does? Even Paul prayed for God to remove his handicap. But problems are how God resets our perspective. Problems take us to ground zero to show us how weak we really are.
We run around trying to control our lives. But to those God loves, he reveals the truth - our complete weakness. While we are weak, he is strong.
Our problems are a not-so-subtle invitation to grasp that truth. And in that truth we are made strong. Stronger than we can imagine.
The weaker I get, the stronger I become.