I have the power
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished I could say, “I have the power” and fix whatever is going on. Truthfully, when I do think I have the power to fix things, it tends to look more like the He-Man movie than the cartoon. If you have ever seen the movie, then you know what I mean, and if you haven’t, save yourself some pain, don’t. The reality is that sometimes things in life are just hard, and there isn’t a way of making it better. This might come about because of decisions we have made, and we are simply facing the consequences. Or it could just be when the circumstances of life come at us, and we are simply left wondering why and not sure what to do.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we see the apostle Paul facing a situation that he didn’t create and he doesn’t want, that he calls a thorn in the flesh. What this thorn actually was has been debated by scholars for centuries, and I won’t attempt to shed any light on that here. Personally, I think the fact that no one knows for sure what the “thorn” was is good because I don’t think it has anything to do with the point God wants to get across. So let’s go ahead and take a look at this portion of scripture and see what we can learn from it.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 says, And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Okay, so there is a lot here, and obviously, we won’t be able to dig into all of it, so let’s break this down to an Aaron level. The first thing we see is that Paul recognized that this thorn was allowed by God as a means to keep him humble. See, God knew that Paul would become prideful and allowed Paul to stay humble, which in turn allowed Paul to be used by God to live out the purpose of bringing glory to God. Next, we see that Paul pleaded with God 3 different times to remove this thorn. Paul was honest with God and didn’t pretend that He was happy to have this thing that was hard. Next, we see Gods response to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul, being weak by worldly standards, was made strong because He had to remain dependent upon God. Then, lastly, we see that Paul saw all of this as good and even welcomed the idea of things that would make most of us, me especially, run the other way. See, Paul understood something profound that we tend to forget: God is always good, no matter what is going on, and He is always in control, and that again His glory is our purpose and points people to the Savior.
So I ask you today, what is God allowing into your life that feels like a thorn in the flesh? Is it your young or maybe grown children? Maybe a difficult marriage or the loss of one? Maybe you just lost that job and you don’t know how you will pay the bills? Maybe you just got that diagnosis from the doctor and you aren’t sure of the next steps?
Whatever our situation is and whether or not we understand, we have to be willing to tell God how we feel and trust His heart. We need to hear as Paul heard, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Because we need to know that the only power we really have is through Gods grace and in that we are made strong through our weakness.
Today, if you are here and you don’t know Jesus yet, He is just a prayer away, and He is waiting for you. Please don’t waste the chance He is giving you; let today be the day you accept the forgiveness He offers.
