1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…
To both the Jewish people and the Greeks (Gentiles) they thought the gospel message preached by the disciples was weak. The Jewish leaders rejected the gospel because it was counter-cultural and counter-intuitive to the last 2000 years of what they held tightly to. And to the Greeks who were into philosophy and the wisdom of the world, the concepts of the gospel were just foolish and simple-minded.
But to both Jew and Greek, they marveled at how uneducated, uncultured, and unclean people like Peter, could powerfully preach a gospel and see thousands of lives transformed. (Acts 4:4)
And this is where the power of the gospel will always be demonstrated, not through your own natural giftedness and ability, but through your own personal weaknesses.
It is not being dismissive of your gifts and abilities, it’s learning to humble yourself in spite of those gifts, and then watching how God anoints them for His power and glory.
In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul says … for when I am weak, then I am strong.
During many occasions Paul would feel beaten and defeated – his oppressors were trying to physically, mentally and emotionally break him down, they even threw him into prison and it was in this context of hardship, that Paul said: “when I am weak, then I am strong”.
In other words - during times of great personal weakness, the strength and power of God rises up.
It pleases God to use what the world thinks is weak, foolish, and despised…to bring to nothing things which are considered mighty in this world.
With Moses, it was a simple wooden stick with which he performed miracles and confounded the might of Pharaoh.
With a stone and a sling, David brought down the might of the Philistine army by defeating Goliath.
With just a donkey jawbone, Samson defeated 1000 Philistines who had oppressed God’s people.
With just an army of 300 men, Gideon defeated the might of the Midianites.
Joseph became Prime Minister of the most powerful nation not because of his might or power, but through the wisdom of God to interpret dreams.
Elijah, an aging, eccentric prophet called down fire from heaven confounding the prophets of Baal.
Jesus defeated the kingdom and power of the devil through the power of His blood!
You might be wealthy or well-educated, you might be talented and trained by this world – but regardless of what natural wealth or talent you possess, learn, by faith to commit it all to God. That's when the power of God will begin to truly flow through your life!