In this world it is hard to find a person who boast about their weaknesses or foolishness. Rather, people do boast about many things such as their wisdom, their power, their money, etc. However humble a person may be, still he or she has a couple of relatives or friends who they can boast about. That is why when somebody’s name is mentioned honorably, the one who is related to him boasts about the fact that he knows the aforementioned man even though he is a far relative to him and he has never met him before in person. And he might think that in the time of trouble or hardship he might be rescued out of it thanks to things that he is boasting about.
In the worldly view point, if you know a man like Superman, you can really boast about yourself. How about a man with great wealth or great power like a president? How about a man with great wisdom? For this reason, people in the world seek strength and power, rather than weaknesses. However, in the spiritual perspective, weaknesses are the things that we should boast about. About the weaknesses, Paul writes:
2 Corinthians 12:8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from. 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.
Why did he boast about his weaknesses? People try to hide their weaknesses because it can cause trouble to them and bring hardship to them. That is why instinctively they try to their strong points or the things they are good at to impress the people around him that he is not the one who they can look down upon. But Paul’s attitude is exactly opposite to the worldly viewpoint. It is because his conclusion was based on the spiritual perspective.
1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
Who can be more powerful than God? Who can be wiser or richer than God? Or who can have more authority than God? No one. Therefore, if God is with a person, he can be more powerful, rich, and wise than any other man on this earth because God gives the person whatever he wants and however much he asks. That is why he always wanted to be with God and receive power and strength from God. The only way for him to be with God was to be humble and to be weak by getting rid of his own power and strength just as the Scriptures said that God gives grace to the humble.
When a person admits to God that he is weak and helpless, God helps him by giving him his power and wisdom. Then who can defeat the person who receives the power from God? Nobody. And he becomes the most powerful man by the power of God. In reality, Paul had many things that he could boast about.
Philippians 3:3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh–though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
Paul had many things he could boast about: his social status, his authority, his knowledge, his power. But as soon as he realized Christ Jesus, he considered rubbish for everything that he once boasted about because he wanted to receive power from God.
When I am going through a time of trouble or hardship, I ask myself if I am like people of the world depending on their power, wisdom, or their connection to people around them who can exercise their influence to help them out of bad situation. But I thank God for that because I have no man of influence around me who can help me, but I have Father and Mother who can give me power and strength. When I feel helpless, there is God with me. And I know weakness of God is stronger than the strength of any man on this earth or in the whole universe. That strength of God is with me. Therefore, I have no choice but to give thanks to Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother