The Christian life is full of paradoxes which is always a conundrum to the world’s way of thinking: Jesus became poor so we could become rich; we have to die to live; and God’s power is made perfect in weakness. These realities are precious to us as believers because, as we experience their truth, we also experience joy, that God’s love for us is so great that he works his power within us, regardless of how challenging the situation.

 

Christian philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, once said, “Man’s greatest strength lies in his ability to admit his own weakness.” Perhaps this is because, when we do, it humbles us. It obliges us to look beyond ourselves and embrace God, “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20) and, in so doing, submit to his greater strength.

 

These reflections echo Paul’s powerful phrase in today’s verse, “we do not lose heart”. Aware of our own weakness, we place our hope and trust in God. As we call on him, we receive his strength – the same divine power of the God who said, " 'Let light shine out of darkness,' [and] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”(2 Corinthians 4:6) It is Christ in us who renews us day by day.

 

Katherine Wolf recognised this truth during a time when she was “wasting away” in the darkness of pain and suffering – yet it was in that very darkness that God began a new work in her. She embraces the words of Barbara Brown Taylor as a reflection of her experience following her life-altering stroke: “New life starts in the dark. Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark”.

 

In the hospital, when she finally regained consciousness, but unable to speak, she desperately wanted to tell everybody that she hadn’t changed – that she was still the same Katherine on the inside. It was only her exterior that had been altered. Today, 15 years later, she sees it differently; this no longer applies. She believes that suffering transforms us – that it creates new people. She celebrates the good that has been born from the darkness of her suffering, recognising that it has made her new. And she continues to experience renewal as Jesus sustains her day by day.

 

We may never face the intensity of Katherine’s suffering, but we are all familiar with the fragility of life on this earth. In every season, may we hold fast to Jesus – never losing heart – but remaining in his presence and delighting in the daily renewal he so graciously provides.