6. THE STRENGTH PARADOX
A lot of what I’ve been writing in this short book centres around paradoxes. This is because the real sys-
tem we operate by is counterintuitive to the system of the world which we live in. That is to say that as
Christians, we operate in an alternate reality from what is obtainable in the world. We operate in a higher
realm which has a different yet more efficient way of carrying out things than this natural realm we find
ourselves in.
That is precisely why a lot of us struggle especially in the spiritual aspect. Because the system of the word
is opposite to God’s system.
The truth as I have stated before, is we are mortal beings created in the image of an immortal God. But
being created in his image doesn’t mean we were made exactly like him – we were made with limitations
and God is the only perfect being.
God intends that as part of our communion with him, we look to Him for strength and grace to augment
the finite reserves that we have and he always comes through but we seldom go to him to assess that re-
serve and that leaves us burnt out. That is why we end up unsatisfied and even consider taking our lives.
Take for example we all have varying levels of emotional strength but there is a limit to what we can each
carry. When we carry so much that it tips over that limit we become shadows of ourselves and crumble
but when we run to God, he sees us through. God is our creator and he knows the limits of his creations.
No one overuses an appliance when he knows the limits – God won't overwork us.
I didn’t understand this until I studied my life in retrospect. In JS3 at the age of 14, I began to have a sharp
incessant pain in my left leg. After some time, I went to the hospital and it was discovered that I had some
hormonal imbalance which led to problems for one of my limbs and from that time till now a journey of
pain started. I used to get frustrated but I ran into the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:9-10:
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." There-
fore, 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. NIV
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