Well, the following verse might help bring some understanding to this…
I have shared a bit with you about what this “plan for change” is, and I know that it seems to be a paradox to some of you that a remnant people will be brought into the fullness of the overcoming life through what looks like their utter defeat. But this is the wisdom of God as seen through the Cross of Jesus Christ, and it only SEEMS to be a paradox to minds that think as carnal men do (even as Peter, who, with honest and good intentions, counseled Jesus NOT to go to the cross).
I know that some of what I’ve been sharing lately is rubbing some people the wrong way. I can assure you though, it’s the right way that these folks are being “rubbed,” it just feels wrong to their flesh because the wisdom of man and the preservation of his flesh is diametrically opposed to the WISDOM OF GOD which dictates that we LIVE AS SACRIFICES unto God in the earth, even as “sheep being led to the slaughter.” By man’s wisdom man overcomes adversity by striking back when struck, or by vindicating himself when falsely accused. But this is not THE WAY OF THE CROSS. No. The Wisdom of the Cross is a wisdom by which a man (in meekness and as led by the Spirit) allows himself to actually be overcome by men in the flesh, sometimes overcome to the point of death (as Jesus).