Our spiritual life is like those wall outlets with two plug-in options. Two sources of power. Either choice will provide electricity. But only one will work for a given appliance.
There is a similar choice in the spiritual realm. Two sorts of power. One is the foolishness of this world. When we plug our hope into the “wisdom” of mankind, we seek financial wealth or political position. These things provide a kind of power. It is power that provides an illusion of control. Worldly power lasts for a short time, then goes dead.
Our other alternative is to choose to plug our faith into the power of God. This is like plugging in to an electrical grid that will never fail. There are no black outs in God’s economy.
Most of us tend to toggle between the two outlets. We rely on an earthly perspective until we get in trouble, then scramble to change outlets. We tend to avoid living in the reality that we are weak, frail, and uncertain. Our ability to comprehend is very small. Our ability to alter the circumstances around us is very slight. But we tend to prefer to live an illusion that says otherwise. Our own fragility is a hard pill to swallow.
Although Paul had a commission directly from Jesus, he realized his weakness. He embraced his weakness, stating that in his weakness he was made strong by the power of God. Paul was able to choose a true perspective that recognized spiritual realities in a physical world.