God's Sufficient Grace in Our Weakness
*Editor’s Note: This article contains mention of miscarriage and infant loss. Please be aware of this before you read, and consider clicking away if you need to protect your heart.*
I thought I understood weakness. That is, until Christmas Eve of 2020. I’ve experienced a handful of outside persecutions during my years in vocational ministry, as well as wrestled with my own sinful patterns, insecurities, and inadequacies that threatened to keep me from accomplishing God’s will to glorify him with my life. That said, nothing could have prepared me for the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual weakness I experienced on Christmas Eve a few years ago.
Ten minutes before stepping onto the platform to lead our local church in worship alongside my husband, I began miscarrying the precious baby in my womb, our third child. As I begged God that this was not happening, especially not at this time or in this way, I did the only other thing I could do in such a moment. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, I grabbed my microphone and laid my soul out in worship, knowing that the baby King’s birth we were celebrating that night was the only hope for the baby inside of me.
We learned that our little one was with Jesus on December 26th. The grief journey our family has traveled over the years following our loss has brought us to the absolute end of ourselves. But I am overjoyed to proclaim how God’s nearness saved my life when I was at my lowest.
In my frailty, his strength was actually enough.
When I was lost in the darkness of depression, the Light of the World grabbed my hand and pulled me out of that pit.
When I had nothing but questions, Jesus was my answer.
In my suffering, the suffering Servant remained my portion.
When trauma threatened to steal my peace, I tasted the Bread of Life and found him to be even more satisfying, filling, and nourishing than I ever dreamed.
And now, I can agree with Paul’s confidence that because of the power of Christ, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).
“When I was lost in the darkness of depression, the Light of the World grabbed my hand and pulled me out of that pit.
When I had nothing but questions, Jesus was my answer.
In my suffering, the suffering Servant remained my portion. ”
Serving through Weakness
The Apostle Paul’s life provides a captivating example of how to serve through weakness in ministry. Throughout his service to the Lord, Paul was imprisoned, stoned, beaten with rods three times, given 39 lashes five times, shipwrecked three times, adrift at sea, in danger from rivers, robbers, the city, the wilderness, his own people, the Gentiles, and false brothers, suffered through physical hunger and thirst, was left exposed in cold weather, experienced insomnia, and dealt with regular anxiety about his ministry (2 Cor. 11:23-28).
I’m pretty sure I would have waved the white flag and gone home after just one of those traumas. But about all of this, Paul said, “Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?” (2 Cor. 11:29 NLT). Friends, Paul gets us. This man knew suffering. He knew pain. He knew injustice. And still, by the grace of God, he endured ‘til the end. How did he do it?
Simply, Paul remembered who God was.
God’s Character is Our Anchor for Enduring Weakness in Ministry
The passage continues, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying” (2 Cor. 11:30-31). When we look closely, we can notice several nods to God’s character in this one sentence from Paul.
First, he is “God and Father of the Lord Jesus.” Here, immediately after promising to boast of his weaknesses, Paul proclaimed that Jesus Christ is Lord, and he acknowledged God as the Father. He began any “boasting” with a clear assurance of trinitarian theology. This is important because believing in the Trinity—one true God existing in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is foundational to our faith.
“In all of our various types of suffering, God’s character is our anchor for persevering through weakness. ”
Next, Paul said of God, “he who is blessed forever.” The Greek word used here for “blessed,” eulogētos, is the same term the high priest used when asking Jesus directly if he was the Christ (Mark 14:61). Additionally, in 1 Peter 1:3, Peter preached of the living hope we have through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. In his sermon, he called God the Father “blessed” with the same praise-giving word. By including these five words, Paul connected his knowledge of God to his belief in him as the Messiah.
In his exhortation, Paul then added, “knows that I am not lying.” This simple statement is both a cry of Paul’s innocent intentions when recounting his ministry struggles, and a proclamation of God’s perfect omniscience. Regardless of the difficult circumstances, betrayals, and unimaginable trials Paul had endured, he resolved to remember that God knows all truth. For Paul, to know that God knows was enough.
May we be servants of the Kingdom who believe the same, not needing to prove our innocence to those who threaten to steal our peace when we are covered by the righteousness of Christ. Instead, like Paul, may we receive our comfort in weakness through God’s sovereign grace to endure in our work—not because the work always feels worth it, but because serving the Lord Jesus most certainly is.
A Model of Endurance
I am confident that after our traumatic loss in December 2020 and amidst the various hardships of ministry life, I would not have been able to continue on apart from the sustaining grace and strength of the Lord.
Whatever the weakness we face, we would do well to follow Paul’s lead by reminding our hearts that the God we serve is truly who he says he is. In all of our various types of suffering, God’s character is our anchor for persevering through weakness. We cannot derive strength from our own reserves but are only empowered by his Spirit once we have fully surrendered to his will. We do not need to understand the depths of our pain in order to understand the depths of his purpose. He is about his glory. As his image-bearers and disciples, our primary aim is to reflect his glory and display it to the world around us. We are his ambassadors, designed to be agents of reconciliation between the brokenness caused by sin and the eternal life offered through Christ’s precious blood (2 Cor. 5:20).
Most assuredly, we need strength greater than our own to accomplish this purpose. We need One who is more able than we can even conceive of being (Eph. 3:20-21). We need One whose strength will never fail as ours surely will (Ps. 73:26, Is. 40:28-31). We need One whose character is always constant while our capacity is ever-changing (Heb. 13:8).
Thanks be to God that such a model for endurance exists! He is Jesus Christ, the LORD. Throughout shifting seasons and struggles in our ministries, may we remember to gaze upon his beauty, draw from his strength, and serve him faithfully until the very end.
He is due all glory, forever and ever, amen.
“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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Ashley Setterlind is a wife, mama to three on earth + one in Heaven, and a trauma-informed Mental Health Coach. Whether through cooking another tray of dino nuggets at home or leading worship in her local church, Ashley’s highest aim is to bring glory to Jesus Christ. Exploring bookstores, drinking vanilla iced lattes, and having fireside chats with her husband are three of her simple joys. Ashley lives with her family in Hendersonville, North Carolina. You can explore her resources and connect with her further on Instagram @ashleylsetterlind or by visiting www.ashleysetterlind.com.
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