With high school football, and other sports in full swing, are you cheering and bragging about your favorite team or player? Do you boast with pride about your sports team? What about when they aren’t doing so well? Are you quieter?

What do you boast about? Do  you want everyone to know about your failures and struggles? Do you brag about them?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2 Corinthians 12:9-10) This is the Mary Staggs Version of that verse: God’s favor, approval, mercy & forgiveness is all I need. God’s power works best when I am weak, stumped, discouraged, hurt, and humbled. So now let me tell everyone with a smile  about my failures, struggles, and fears, so that the mighty power of Christ – the creator of the universe –  the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and amazingly lives in me can work through me! That’s why I can, (but don’t always smile) when I’m weak, mess up, when I’m insulted, when things are hard, or when troubles overtake me. Because in my weakest moment I can be strong! What? In any temptation, trial, sickness, grief, or struggle – not me, not my brain, not my heart, not my friends, my parents or my upbringing, but my Savior is strong in me.

Listen up, HE IS MIGHTY, I (we) just need to get out of the way. God uses my struggles to get me out of the way so HE can work. It’s all about HIM. It’s about making HIS name great. It’s about others seeing God do things we cannot do ourselves. HE does it way better than I can even imagine. “Humble yourself under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up. (1 Peter 5:6) The next verse is my favorite. I’ve taught it to all my preschoolers for the last 40 years: Give all your worries and cares to God, for HE cares about you! GOD CARES FOR YOU!

He is not worried about what you have or don’t have, your size, your age, your education, your hair color, your race, where you work, or  your bank account. HE just wants my heart.

There is nothing that can separate me from God’s love,  I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) He is strong in my weakness! Now that is something to brag about.

Brag on Jesus today, be glad (the joy of the Lord is your strength) and let others see Jesus through you!