WHEN WE ARE WEEK-WE ARE REALLY AT OUR STRONGEST

By Steven Garofalo May 1, 2026

While each one of us enters the new week differently and at different stages of life, I’m reminded how temporal life is and how or present, difficult times are really when we are the strongest. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “So, to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, 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.” A thorn was given to Paul, and I believe perhaps to most if not all of us. With Paul, this seems to have been some recurrent physical affliction. Perhaps a migraine headache, malaria, or epilepsy as many have suggested. Only God knows.  

Most importantly, Paul saw this as the work of Satan, permitted by God for a good purpose (keeping him humble). It could not be relieved through prayer in Paul’s case (v.8). But Paul makes clear in v.9 that “the power of Christ in him was more important than freedom from pain”. Paul makes clear that having to boast and defend himself made him feel foolish. It seems that everyone could see the thorn Paul suffered from-it was no secret. Some among the Corinthian Christians probably thought less of Paul because of his torn in the flesh, but they had known nothing of the amazing spiritual experience that lay behind it. The thorn, Paul said was bad used for good, as the New King James says, “a messenger of Satan”. God allowed Satan’s messenger to successfully keep Paul from becoming exhaled above measure…in his own eyes and that of others. Boy, how this hits home with most of us. Our failures are really chisel marks in our clay and mental makeup so that the Lord can use us “authentically”. 

This goes strongly against “numbers” as our barometer of success in our modern world. How many were saved, how many downloads, how many views and likes. What a joke-this is harmful if taken as success. Success is made one on one through each believer to others. And when we get too big for our own self, God will send a thorn. Whether that thorn is temporary or permanent, that’s up to Him not us. Either way, it is for our own ultimate good in both the temporal and eternal spectrum. 

Reflecting in all of this makes me think about the state of the church, Christianity, the United States, and the world. My conclusion is that we are all out of wack to some degree…some more than others. And as such, God is recalibrating us. There is no going back to the way things used to be. My mom is 90 years old and has a difficult time with this …understandably. But the Great Generation of World War2 was changed forever by war, Great Depression. And it left a thorn in their side. But then came the 1950’s. Good times came back. But things were different forever. And the thorn in many if not most all families and homes re: the loss of a lost one and the emotional and mental scars of war quietly lived in…the loss of children, husbands, friends and the like was a thorn fie that generation. Hence why they were serious and very matter of fact.  

 Suffering is real. Through Paul’s infirmities God made him completely dependent, but his continued-even forced-dependence upon God made him s thronged Paul did not resign himself to his fate; he welcomed it. He rejoiced that he could say, “WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG”. “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, THEN I am strong-Apostle Paul. This is not a one-day way of thinking, acting and being-it is how we chose to live our life-dependent on God or independent of His will for our lives. Calamities come to all. It is how we view, accept, and embrace them. Which will you choose?

Apostle Paul viewed perseverance as a vital, Holy Spirit-empowered endurance of suffering, fueled by hope, calling, and the promise of eternal glory. He taught that trials develop character and hope (Romans 5:3-4), encouraging believers to not grow weary in doing good and to finish their faith "race".

Key Themes of Paul’s Teaching on Perseverance:Suffering Produces Character: Paul writes in Romans 5:3-4 that suffering leads to endurance (perseverance), which builds character and ultimately produces hope. Empowered by Grace: True perseverance is not self-striving but reliance on God’s power, as Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15:10 that he labored harder than others, yet it was "the grace of God" within him. The "Race" Metaphor: Paul frequently used athletic metaphors, stating he "fought the good fight" and "finished the race" (2 Timothy 4:7), encouraging believers to remain steadfast to the end. Focus on Eternity: In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, he encourages believers to look beyond temporary struggles to an "eternal weight of glory".

Joy in Trials: Paul modeled finding joy in suffering (Romans 5:3) and maintaining a mindset that trials are merely temporary, as shown in his letter to the Philippians.Key Verses on Perseverance by Paul:Romans 12:12: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."Galatians 6:9: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. "2 Thessalonians 3:5: "May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance."2 Timothy 4:7:  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."Pillars of Paul's Own Perseverance:Paul’s endurance was built on a firm conviction of his calling, a reliance on divine strength rather than human ability, and a focus on the reward of Christ, often prioritizing these over his own physical safety.

So I ask you..how you see perseverance in today’s crazy world? Are you willing to take the Sceipturel challenge to suffer in order to build character before the Lord daises you up to even higher levels of service, joy and blessing according to how much you and I can handle without letting success, lower and wealth get the best of us? Think about that-pray about that…

THE DEATH PENALTY FOR CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER?

Over the past week we have seen a young Ukrainian lady stabbed in the neck - murdered in cold blood by a deranged serial repeat offender who was let out of jail by writing a hand written note stating that he would be a good boy and not do that again. Her crime was simply riding the subway in Charlotte, NC. 

The criminal murderer had been arrested 14 times and let out by a judge that never passed the bar and I believe never even went to law school. She was a DEI activist judge. So what should have been his punishment?

Then there is the assasination of a Charlie Kirk. What should become of him once caught?

The Bible is very clear as to the answer to the question regarding punishment for first degree murder (speaking of humans only). I want to address this issue today for all of mankind, but especially for us as Christians. Before get jump in, I want to make clear that Christians should NEVER defy God’s Word in light of secular of secular thinking or how we feel about taking the life of a human being who pre-meditatively took the innocent life of another human being-who by the way are made in God’s image.

In order to make this not about my opinion, let’s go to what God through His word (the Holy Bible Scriptures) says from the very beginning of time as to what is to be the punishment or response administered to one who commits first degree murder. First degree murder by its very legal definition is to take an innocent life knowingly and premeditated. This is what I want to address in today’s episode. I want to digress for one brief moment in addressing the government authorities who have and continue to fail to do their job by simply incarcerating (putting and keeping criminals in jail) for the safety of the general, innocent public. That’s the more difficult question to answer-but I see it as negligence and possibly an accessory to homicide in many if not most all cases. 

So, the more more difficult question to answer is what ought be the legal and civil liability for judges, governors and other positions of power if those judges (who are acting negligently) results in the loss of human life, meaning the murder of innocent citizens by way of criminals that should have been locked up but were let out uprightly. This is gross neglegence of their part in letting these repetitive law breakers and monsters out of jail with zero cash bond or on things like a written note to behave like a good girl or boy as was the case in the North Carolina man-arrested 14 times, and who ended up murdering a young 23 year old Ukrainian woman on the Charlotte, NC subway simply because he was let out of jail on zero bond for writing a nice promise to the so called non-layer “judge” that he would stop being a bad boy and behave himself as some form of demented bond for his release. That question is yet to be debated but the Bible addresses that question as well when resulting in physical harm or loss or damage to property. Perhaps we will leave that for another day. Let’s get back to the Bible and the death penalty.

The problem with modern Christians is that they see the Bible as an ancient document, somewhat disconnected from biblical truths. In other words, many if not most modern people claiming to Christian don’t see the Bible as the ultimate Standard for right or wrong, but a nice book they can choose and pick from according to how they might feel about a particular subject.

The problem problem with modern “Christianity” is that it’s often distorted and it’s considered extreme by many for Christians to think and act biblically. 

My response this is that society and secular thinking in such cases is not moderate but extreme itself in allowing criminals to repeat crime at more extreme levels. Sadly, in some cases, such thinking results in murder and the loss of innocent life. This is what God gave us as to the consequence of shedding innocent blood in murder. Don’t get me wrong, mercy and forgiveness are very important, but we are to show mercy and forgiveness without forgoing God’s commands. We can forgive the person and still hold them to the physical consequence of the death penalty-and we should. Let’s now take a look at what God tells us about the death penalty from the very start of the Bible, starting in the Book of Genesis, chapter 9.

Genesis 9:5-6 (ESV)
“5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

In other words, God makes clear in the very beginning of time-in the beginning of the Bible, that homocide (first degree murder) demands a punishment that matches the crime. The justification for capital punishment, here established, is the nobility of human life… “FOR GOD MADE MAN (and woman) IN HIS OWN IMAGE”. Thus murder shows contempt for God Himself as well as for one’s fellow man. What Genesis 9 is not saying is that the death penalty is to applied to a person who accidentally ran a red light and killed another person. That still hold consequences, it not the death penalty. That’s a different discussion for a different episode.

THE POWER TO ADMINISTER THE DEATH PENALTY

To be clear, the power to administer capital punishment does not lie with us as individuals or any entity outside of the authority and power of governmental. Romans 13:3-4 makes clear of that, saying:

“3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”

HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS VIEW THE DEATH PENALTY?

FIRST: We must understand and accept that God has instituted capital punishment (the death penalty, not man.) It would be arrogant and presumptuous to think that we could instituted and/enforce or fail to enforce a higher standard than God commanded. After all, God is perfect and as such, has provided us the highest Standard of any being. And this standard applies not only to us as His created beings but also to God Himself due to the fact that He is all good and perfect.

God is Love as well Infinite in His essence and attributes. As such, He loves to an Infinite degree. We should also understand that God has wrath as an infinite degree, and He maintains this in perfect balance. 

SECOND: As Christians (and all human beings ), we must recognize and accept that God has given us government as the authority as we discussed for administering capital punishment, and determine when the death penalty should be applied according to God’s Word. This better ensures that innocent or people undeserving of the death penalty are not put to death wrongfully (see Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:1-7). 

IN CLOSING

Let’s be clear that it’s unbiblical to clam that God opposes the death penalty in all instances. On the flip side, Christians should not rejoice when the death penalty is employed. We can feel the satisfaction of God’s justice being implemented and upheld but we should not rejoice, meaning we ought not celebrate the death of another human being, despite their terrible crime(s). 

In the end, Christians out not fight against or picket or push back the government’s right to execute the perpetrators of the most terrible crimes, especially when involving first degree murder when it’s deserved.

It’s emotionally nice to want to extend mercy and many Christian’s defy God’s Word regarding the death penalty. In such cases, Christian are not only wrong but in defiance of God’s Word. The only answer I have as to why a Christian would do such a thing is that they have compitulated to culture insted of helping form, influence and change the world according to God’s Word. In closing I want to remind everyone of one simple truth in that God does not move to us as His created creation. Instead, we, mankind (meaning all humans-both man and woman) move to Him. He is unmovable. 

Malachi 3:6
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

AND SO SHOULD WE AS CHRISTIANS: 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
“58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain…”

Will you chose to see these verses and the entire Bible as your guide for living and what is right and wrong or will you pick which Scriptures you like or dislike and make yourself the god of the Bible as opposed to God?