“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (2 Corinthians 11:30).

It is a human tendency for us to boast in our strengths. Pride leads us to focus on the things at which we excel. It’s natural for us to promote our abilities. It’s easy to announce, “Look at what I can do.”

Paul found a better way. It’s to realize our weaknesses. Then, all we can say is, “Look what Jesus can do in spite of me.” Jack Hayford once said that God used his failures to bless others even more than his successes.

What everyone needs is hope that lifts them above their weaknesses. When others see us being honest about ourselves they can realize that the power for success comes from God. That means that God gets the glory. As Paul said earlier in this letter, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Heaven won’t be a place for our celebrating what we did. It will be a place filled with praise for God who was able to show His power through us. He is the source of our power and the reason for all our successes. We can say with all honesty “To God be the glory.”