General News
21 September, 2025
In good faith
II Corinthians 12:9: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Throughout history God has used the humble and the lowly as His instruments in carrying out His work.
All God’s Old Testament leaders, even the apostles like St. Paul, have been men and women not necessarily of humble birth, but of humble faith.
They may have been born into rich and powerful families like King David, or they may have been born into the humblest of circumstances like John the Baptist, who lived in the wilderness and ate locusts.
But one thing they all had in common: their whole trust was in God.
They relied on Him before anything else. This is what sets God's people apart!
To some, God gave special personal abilities, such as the prophet Elijah, who raised to life the dead son of the widow of Zarephath.
To others He gave great endurance such as Moses, or wisdom, like King Solomon.
But as great as these abilities were, it was God’s power working in these people that achieved what the Lord wanted: ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us’ (II Cor. 4:7).
Think of St. Paul. He personally wrote most of the New Testament.
He was given many visions and revelations which were not given to other people – even a glimpse into heaven itself.
As great as these were, none of them gave him any greater power or authority than any other Christian, for Paul too was a man of simple faith.
He trusted in the Lord just like the Old Testament figures had done.
You see, it is through simple, child-like faith that God accomplishes His greatest works, not through the flashy gifts and powers that some people are given.
As great as he was, St. Paul could not boast of being greater than any other Christian; he certainly achieved great things, but the faith He had was the same faith as Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptist, you or me.
This is a miracle of God’s undeserved love: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
This is brought about by God’s love to all believers – God’s favour given to all who believe through His gift of forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
We must humble ourselves before God in repentance and faith to receive God’s grace in this way.
This means that all Christians have the Lord’s power, the same power He gave to Paul, David, Solomon, John the Baptist and the other saints and apostles.
With that power, we can accomplish great things as they did, no matter what our personal circumstances or personal gifts may be.
Our strength is in Christ, not in ourselves. In the strength of Christ, it is impossible to be silent!
God may not remove our weaknesses – He didn’t for Paul, for example – but He gives us His strength, though we be ‘jars of clay’, so we too may be willing witnesses of God’s grace.
Contributed by LUCAS MATUSCHKA