Why, one wonders, would Paul be content in persecutions, in weakness, or, for example, when he is wronged? And what do the words "when I am weak, then I am strong" mean? At first glance such...
Why, one wonders, would Paul be content in persecutions, in weakness, or, for example, when he is wronged? And what do the words "when I am weak, then I am strong" mean? At first glance such a position may seem strange. Indeed, only masochists rejoice in suffering; normal people are not like that. Yet Paul was obviously not a masochist. What, then, could make him glad? It should be noted, however, that this is not exactly about joy; the corresponding Greek word denotes rather a calm and balanced state of spirit, which the apostle evidently preserves despite the circumstances, circumstances that are in no way conducive to calmness of spirit.
But why does such calmness of spirit become a sign of strength? And why does only weakness make Paul strong? Of course, one could say that the strength of a person's conviction in what he confesses and preaches is tested precisely in times of persecution. But the matter, it appears, is not only this. The point is the very nature of the Kingdom. And above all, that the Kingdom, according to the Savior's word, is "not of this world." And if so, if it lives according to laws fundamentally different from the laws of the untransformed world, then the strength of the Kingdom is obviously not determined by what happens to a person in this world. Such independence in itself is the best testimony that a person truly belongs to the Kingdom and lives its life, a life that the evil of the world is unable to take away from him because it has nothing in common with it.
But there is another side to this situation as well. It is precisely the sense of the presence of strength within oneself in moments of complete weakness, that is, when you know for certain that you have no strength at that moment and cannot have any because there is nowhere for it to come from, that is the best proof that this strength truly comes from God. At other moments God's strength can sometimes be confused with the powers of this world, with the natural energy inherent in every healthy person. But when there is no natural energy at all, you can be sure that any strength you feel within yourself is from God. And that means the work for which it is given is God's work.
