{"id":1881,"date":"2023-10-30T09:31:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T09:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/invictus-or-infirma\/"},"modified":"2023-10-30T09:31:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T09:31:04","slug":"invictus-or-infirma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/invictus-or-infirma\/","title":{"rendered":"Invictus or Infirma?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For when I am weak, then I am strong <\/em>(2 Corinthians 12:10)<\/p>\n

Each year, dozens of commencement speeches quote the final lines of William Ernest Henley\u2019s poem Invictus: <\/em><\/p>\n

I am the master of my fate,<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I am the captain of my soul.<\/strong><\/em>\n<\/p>\n

Invictus <\/em>is a Latin term that means \u201cInvincible.\u201d The poet prides himself on his ability to face the worst life has to offer with courage and strength. <\/p>\n

The church at Corinth could have taken Invictus<\/em> as their motto. They prided themselves on their strength and wisdom. They gloried in prosperity, miracles, and great oratory. <\/p>\n

But Paul offered a different view of ministry<\/strong>. Instead of Invictus<\/em> <\/strong>(\u201cI am invincible\u201d), Paul\u2019s motto was Infirma<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>(\u201cI am weak\u201d). Instead of great victories, Paul \u201cboasts\u201d of great sufferings:<\/p>\n

\tThree times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness (2 Corinthians 11:25-30).<\/em><\/p>\n

Even worse, Paul tells of his prayer for deliverance from a painful thorn in his flesh. Then as now, some people preached, \u201cIf you have enough faith, God will heal you. Just name it and claim it.\u201d If anyone could claim this promise, it should be this great apostle. But instead of healing Paul, God promised, <\/p>\n

\u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Instead of Invictus, Paul experienced Infirma. Instead of strength, he found weakness. <\/em><\/strong>Instead of glory, he suffered defeats. But Paul responded,<\/p>\n

Therefore I will boast<\/u> all the more gladly of my weaknesses<\/u>, 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 <\/em>(2 Corinthians 12:9-10).\n<\/p>\n

Pastor, do you feel weak? Missionary, do you suffer opposition? Church leader, are the cares of the church more than you can bear? <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t seek to be invincible. Don\u2019t think you are the master of your fate. Don\u2019t claim to be the captain of your soul. Instead, rejoice in your weakness. Learn with Paul that \u201cGod is the captain of your soul.\u201d And through your weakness, His power will be made perfect. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t seek to be invincible. Don\u2019t think you are the master of your fate. Instead, rejoice in your weakness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotionals","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shepherdsglobal.org\/te\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}