Gathering Strength In God – Our Daily Bread (ODB) Devotional, Today, 19th November 2023

Topic: Gathering Strength in God (Paraphrased)

Bible in a Year:

Ezekiel 11–13
James 1
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

2 Corinthians 12:2–10

Artist Grainger McKoy studies and sculpts birds, emphasizing their strength, grace, and fragility. Recovery is the title of one of his compositions. It displays the pintail duck’s lone right wing, raised and oriented vertically. “The moment of the bird’s greatest weakness in flight, yet also the moment when it gathers strength for the journey ahead” is how a plaque below characterizes the bird’s recovery stroke. The verse “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9) is one that Grainger quotes.

These are the remarks that the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. Paul prayed to God to remove what he called “a thorn in my flesh” during a time when he was overcome with personal strife (v. 7). It may have been a medical illness or spiritual resistance that was bothering him. Similar to Jesus in the garden the evening before His crucifixion (Luke 22:39–44), Paul prayed to God to end his agony on several occasions. In response, the Holy Spirit gave him the assurance that He would supply the necessary strength. Paul discovered that “I am strong when I am weak” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Oh, the thorns this life is full of! We can gather God’s strength for the challenges we face, just like a bird gathers its strength for a journey ahead. We find our strength in His.

By Elisa Morgan

Reflect & Pray

Where are you experiencing weakness today? How can you—in that exact weakness—gather God’s strength for your journey?

Dear Father, help me gather my strength from Yours as I face what’s ahead in my life today.