Humbling experiences in life often lead to seasons of extraordinary spiritual growth. What we go through determines what we become based on how we go through it. In this excerpt from Divine Detours: When God Messes Up Your Plans, author Sion Alford shares how God uses our weaknesses as a means of accomplishing in us what He ultimately desires—Christlike character.

There is a great paradox on the journey to God’s promise. Hidden pride often feels like strength, while humility feels like weakness. In a world where people are always striving for a place of importance, we think of weakness as a bad thing when, in fact, God says we are never stronger than when we are weak. The Bible reveals that our weakness and brokenness actually open the way for God’s power and strength.

The apostle Paul described how God works in his second letter to the believers at Corinth. The Corinthians continually struggled with an overblown estimation of their own importance. To help them see how God used him so powerfully, Paul shared a very personal struggle:

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 (2 Corinthians 12:7–10, NIV).

Look closely at the Lord’s reassurance to Paul. While he asked God to deliver him from Satan’s affliction, God assured His servant Paul that the allowed affliction had a purpose. God didn’t cause Paul’s suffering; Satan caused it. But the Lord gave Paul’s suffering a divine purpose. He allowed the hardship to remain so Paul wouldn’t become conceited, and to make His power perfect in the apostle’s life.

Paul never identifies his thorn, because the specific issue is irrelevant. It could have been a physical ailment, a relentless enemy, a particular temptation, an emotional or psychological problem, or a recurring illness. He didn’t focus on his issue; he helped his readers identify with his experience as we think about our own thorns.

We do know the affliction irritated his flesh and tormented him. But God didn’t remove the source of Paul’s weakness. Instead, God left the thorn to remind Paul of his inability to do anything outside the grace of God. The thorn served as a reminder that, despite great revelations, Paul was still a man.

This experience kept the apostle dependent upon God for strength, which made him far more effective in fulfilling God’s purpose for his life. Weakness. That’s not a popular word in most self-help books. You won’t hear motivational speakers talk about weakness as a means to become great. Even so, Paul calls us to embrace the thorns that reveal our weaknesses. According to Paul, weakness is a prerequisite to strength. Note that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. God uses our weakness as a means of accomplishing in us what He ultimately desires—Christlike character.

What do you consider your greatest weakness? What do you feel powerless to overcome? What “thorn” have you repeatedly asked God to remove, yet still it remains in your flesh? Have you considered that God may want you to accept your thorn? Have you considered how God might channel His power through your weakness? Have you admitted your inability to do anything about this affliction? Can you say with Paul, “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” (2 Corinthians 12:10, NIV)? If so, you can be sure that His power is being made perfect in you.

We often hear the last part of Paul’s discourse misquoted, “When I am weak, He is strong.” But Paul actually declared, “When I am weak, I am strong.” When I am in a place where I put no confidence in my own strength, in my own gifting, or in my own wisdom, then I am really strong, because His power is made perfect (complete and lacking nothing) in my weakness.

We can’t walk in God’s will without His grace. We need Him. We are dependent on Him. This is a true act of humility—an attitude of total dependence on His ability. His grace is enough! It is all you need. If you’ve prayed three times as Paul did and your situation hasn’t changed, embrace the thorn. Welcome to His divine detour. His grace will be there to aid you, assist you, and give you strength. Then you will be strong!

Copyright © 2016 by Sion Alford