2 Corinthians 12:9-10

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

[9] And  he said  grace  is sufficient  for  strength  in  weakness.  Most gladly  therefore  rather  glory  in  infirmities,  that  the power  of Christ  may rest  upon  [10] Therefore  I take pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  reproaches,  in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses  Christ's  sake:  for  when  I am weak,  then  am  I strong. 

What does 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Here is an example of God denying a prayer request because He wanted to give something better (though not more comfortable). What we must learn from what Paul told us about this messenger of Satan is that God used it to teach the apostle dependence on Himself and the sufficiency of His grace.
"What is grace? It is God"s provision for our every need when we need it." [1]
So thoroughly had Paul learned this lesson that he even boasted about his afflictions. He realized that when he was naturally weak the Lord would provide the power that he lacked and needed. [2] He enabled Paul to do things he could not have done had he been naturally strong (cf. Romans 8:35-37).
"This is the summit of the epistle, the lofty peak from which the whole is viewed in true proportion." [3]
This is one of the most important lessons every ambassador of Jesus Christ must learn. Both natural weakness and supernatural power are constantly at work in us, as they were in Paul and in Jesus. The Cross is the greatest example of divine power working through human weakness. The greater we sense our weakness, the more we will sense God"s power (cf. Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 4:13). Someone has said that Christians live on promises, not explanations. This is one of the greatest promises that God has given us to live on.
We may not have experienced as high spiritual highs or as low spiritual lows as Paul did, but we too are in constant need of being aware of God"s supernatural power. Our success does not depend on our natural abilities but on God"s power working in and through us. Human weakness can be a profound blessing if it results in our depending more on God and less on self. [4]
"It was not, however, in the weaknesses themselves that Paul took delight but in the opportunity sufferings endured "for Christ"s sake" afforded him for Christ"s power to reside and be effective in his life ( 2 Corinthians 12:9 b)." [5]
"Human weakness provides the opportunity for divine power." [6]
"In the Christian life, we get many of our blessings through transformation, not substitution.... Sometimes God does meet the need by substitution; but other times He meets the need by transformation. He does not remove the affliction, but He gives us His grace so that the affliction works for us and not against us." [1]
"In the "Fool"s Speech" proper [8] Paul (1) exposes the triumphalism of the "false apostles," whose keyword is hyper (they have "more" to offer than Paul, whom they are "above," or "better" than), but also (2) "boasts" of his "weaknesses," that Isaiah , of those sufferings incurred in the course of ministry in replication of the sufferings of Christ." [9]