“For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV).

That verse always gets me. It makes no sense – humanly speaking. And I’m a human.

The statement before those nine words frustrate me even more. “I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.”

Today, we're going to look deeply into Paul's life.

KEY PASSAGE:

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)

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.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Surrender to the Lord can be a bit like my “harrowing” kayaking experience one summer. When I leaned to the right, lurched to the left and immediately realized I was totally out of control and headed for a splash, I gave in to the moment. I prepared to get wet.

Learn more about how God used this experience to teach me.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV)

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Why don’t we willingly give ourselves over to God as a way of life? Pride, self-will, selfishness. Burger King says we can have it our way, so we do.

There’s something deeper. Paul starts Romans 12 with these words, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy…”

Let's talk about surrender today.

KEY PASSAGE:

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com