The apostle Paul was a great man; he wrote most of the New Testament
and was used by God to do mighty miracles of healing and
deliverance. He was taken by God up into the 3rd Heaven
and had astonishing revelations given to him. And he said of this in
2 Corinthians 12:1-6 (the NIV version)
“ 1 I must go on boasting. Although there
is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations
from the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ who
fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was
in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.
3And I know that this man—whether in the
body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—
4was caught up to paradise. He heard
inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.
5I will boast about a man like that, but I
will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.
6Even if I should choose to boast, I would
not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain,
so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or
say.”
And then, after cataloguing these amazing things he could have been
justified in boasting of, he went on to tell us:
7To keep me from becoming conceited
because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me
a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to
take it away from me. 9But he said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in
insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when
I am weak, then I am strong.
The world seems to worship strength.
We have movies about heroes and superheroes; kids (and adults want
to emulate them).
We are taught to be strong and yet, some of our greatest
victories will come when we are weak—and when everyone
knows we are.
WHY? BECAUSE GOD’S WAYS ARE NOT THE WORLD’S WAYS AND BECAUSE HE
DOESN’T RECEIVE GLORY THROUGH HUMAN STRENGTH. HE RECEIVES GLORY
THROUGH HUMAN WEAKNESS.
So, sometimes, we, like Paul have problems, difficulties,
challenges, weaknesses, infirmities that really puzzle us and almost
knock us out—and everyone seems to be watching while we are going
through these things. Because of this, we’re afraid that we will
somehow “ruin God’s reputation”. But, the reverse is true. The
severe tests often come so that GOD’S REPUTATION AND GLORY MAY BE
ESTABLISHED!
Yes, there are times when a problem or weakness comes upon us that
is so difficult to bear that we literally beg God to take it
away.
Nothing happens. We beg again and, still, nothing happens.
When this happened to the apostle Paul, he PLEADED with God to take
away his affliction and, by the third time, I imagine he was pretty
frustrated wondering why, when God had used him so mightily to heal
and deliver other people, God wasn’t taking away the affliction—or
even answering him.
There has been a lot of “discussion”
as to what this affliction was.
Some say that it could not have been a physical
infirmity—others say it had to have been. I don’t think it matters
that much what Paul’s affliction was; it was enough to make him
beg God to take it away. The principle applies to whatever
affliction, infirmity, sickness, weakness, situation or trial we
might be going through.
Whatever—there
are just times when a problem is so incredibly difficult and
overwhelming that we beg God to remove it…just like Paul did.
Paul wrote these words in
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (AMP)
Three times I called upon the Lord and besought [Him] about this and
begged that it might depart from me;
The mighty apostle Paul asked God THREE times to remove it and
NOTHING HAPPENED.
God didn’t even answer him till after the third time. Then, FINALLY,
God answered him in a way that was totally different than he
expected.
(AMP)9But
He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is
enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to
bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made
perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective
in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in
my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ
(the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon
me!
God didn't take the problem away, and he didn't make Paul "strong
enough" to overcome it on his own.
What He did do was even more amazing. He gave Paul the grace to go
through it and be victorious in the midst of his own weakness.
Because Paul's weakness showcased the mighty Power of God,
God got all the glory. ONLY GOD could have brought Paul through
it and not only did Paul realize this, but so did those around him.
And it didn't take away the power God had given Paul to preach,
deliver, and heal others. It just showed who was doing the actual
work: GOD!
"I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of
speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in
much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with
persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of
men but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Sometimes we pray for God to change or get us out of a situation,
take a problem or affliction away, or at least strengthen us so we
can change it.
Sometimes, He grants our requests, but there are other times when He
simply says: My Grace is sufficient. I won't take it away and I
won't take you out of it, but I WILL BRING YOU THROUGH
IT--NOT BY YOUR STRENGTH, BUT BY MINE.
God wants to show us and those around us that, through HIS POWER, we
can get through anything. The "weakest" Believer, surrounded by
God's power and indwelt by the Holy Spirit is just as powerful as
the "strongest" Believer.
The world and even the Body of Christ sometimes has it turned
around. OUR OWN STRENGTH is not the thing to be desired. God’s
strength is.
In fact, Paul described those whom God chose as…
"...not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble, are called. 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; and
the base things of the world and the things which are despised God
has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the
things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But
of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom
from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that,
as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'" 1
Corinthians 1:26-31
GOD PUTS HIS POWER IN OUR HUMAN VESSELS AND SHOWS THE WORLD THAT WE
OURSELVES ARE WEAK SO THAT HIS POWER MAY BE MADE MANIFEST AND NO ONE
IS CONFUSED ABOUT IT! IT’S NOT OUR POWER---IT’S GOD’S!
2 Corinthians 4:7-11 SAYS:
.. we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence
of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed
on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake,
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
"
So, no matter what you are going through, no matter how many times
you have prayed and the situation hasn't changed, be confident that,
if it doesn't, God will still bring you through. His Grace is
sufficient and His power is being made manifest in the midst of your
weakness. Don’t be ashamed of it—rather glory that, in YOUR
WEAKNESS,
HIS
STRENGTH IS MADE MANIFEST.
