This week, we’re starting a new short series on living the victorious Christian life. Today’s message is that weakness is not failure, but enables God to be powerful in our lives. The Apostle Paul’s leadership was in question by the believers in Corinth. He was not as impressive as other wannabe church leaders. Paul acknowledged that: ‘We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.’ (2 Corinthians 4:8–9, NLT) Yet, he and Timothy did not consider their difficulties as evidence of failure. Instead, they were opportunities for strength and success. This success was clearly not from them, as they were weak – instead, it was from God, who is all-powerful. ‘We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.’ (2 Corinthians 4:7, NLT) Paul shows that his success is not due to worldly methods or worldly impression, but from the power of God. This is why we should never give up when we are tempted to do so, because of apparent failure. Don’t look at the problem issue you see, but persevere, knowing that God can use your perseverance much more than you might realise. When you rely on God’s strength when you are weak, you are allowing God to work in and through you in ways that you might not even begin to realise.