Text: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Memory verse:
“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There was a brother who was just so stubborn, strong-willed but very smart and intelligent. He prospered in every business he got involved in and trusted his wits to make anything happen. He treated his wife unfairly and frequently threatened divorce. We counseled them severally and made his wife apologize to him most times, but still, he remained hardened and unyielding until one day, when he was faced with death in his sickbed. Like Jonah’s cry in the belly of a fish, so he confessed his foolishness in depending on himself, asked for mercy, and vowed to serve God if God would give him a second chance Yes, God did. Discovering his weakness, he learned to totally depend on God and to submit to Him.
We all, like Jacob, have the tendency to view God as our match or mate, whom we can choose to obey or not. Even when we obey, we also choose which of His instructions to obey. We see ourselves as being in control of our lives, choosing our lifestyles, our spouses, our careers, our businesses, our schedules, our residences, all centered on what will make us happy. We direct everything towards our end until God dislocates us. Then, we learn that obedience is not an option but our only reasonable decision.
How we respond to the breaking process will determine whether the brokenness will make us better or bitter. According to our text, even with the messenger of satan to buffet Paul, he didn’t get bitter but submitted. One can either submit to Him and be blessed or resist Him and be bitter. No one ever wins wrestling with God (Acts 5:39; Isa 45:9). Likewise, instead of Jacob complaining to God of how He has crippled him and has put him in a disadvantageous position to fight against his brother, he simply submitted. He clung to the Lord and said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Gen 32:26). His weakness made him depend totally on God for strength. Being crippled, he knew that he couldn’t depend on his strength and smartness anymore, and if God didn’t bless him, he had no hope. Thus, as he clung tightly to the Lord in his brokenness, he received the blessing that he had been scheming to get all his years.
Friends, our greatest victories come from life’s defeats and our greatest favour from life’s failures. Hold tightly to Him in brokenness, for at the time of your greatest weakness is when His greatest strength is shown.

Prayer points
1. Father, please, help me to always obey You in everything and to seek Your will in all I do in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, please help me never to be bitter, complain, or to resist when you take me through brokenness in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. Being broken, I learn to obey God’s commands, allow Him to direct my life, and make His will my pursuit.
2. My greatest blessing comes to me in my weakness as I cling to God in brokenness.