Scripture Reading: “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But 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. That 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.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Is there anything more countercultural than boasting about your weaknesses? I mean, who does that? Certainly not many people I know. When I reflect on my life, I can think of plenty of times I’ve boasted about something, but I’ve rarely boasted about my weaknesses. I’ve tried to stay humble, but pride is always lurking in the shadows. Pride is something I think all of us have dealt with in our lives and it was no different with Paul. From these few verses, we can learn how God perfectly balances burdens and blessings. Paul came to understand that even a thorn in the flesh can be a gift because it helped him remain humble and completely dependent on God.
About 20 years ago, God, in His grace and mercy, allowed some very hard things to come into our lives. First, my wife, Mona, got sick. She developed chronic fatigue and chronic pain that completely debilitated her. A few years later, our son starting struggling with drugs. Our life was a mess, but we started to get a glimpse of what Paul learned – that God’s grace is sufficient. We were blessed to be involved with community groups at The Point and I had the privilege of leading a co-ed group and later a men’s group. It was through this time in community that I learned what God can do with weakness because that’s all I could offer Him. I prepared, showed up and poured my heart out in group, but it was the Holy Spirit who did the heavy lifting. Paul said he gladly boasted about his weaknesses so that Christ’s power would rest on him. I would’ve never understood this unless I lived it. I’ve witnessed how God supernaturally brings beauty out of ashes and how He produces fruit out of the most unlikely of circumstances.
Years ago, I learned an acrostic for the word grace: God’s Riches Available at Christ’s Expense. God gave Paul and us a message of grace – sufficient grace and strengthening grace. God’s grace has saved and continues to save us from our sins, provides for our every need and gives us strength when we are weak. Paul didn’t place his trust in people or in his circumstances. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loved him even though he dealt with a persistent “thorn in his flesh”. We don’t know what the thorn was, but we can all relate to some kind of challenging issue in our lives.
So how does this translate to our lives right now? Do we have access to God’s “sufficient grace”? Absolutely! We present our weakness to God and He gives us His strength. When do we do this? Everyday. How do we do this? We spend time with our Lord each day in prayer and Bible reading. We join a community group where we can grow, serve and become spiritually mature. What will be the result? Our self-centeredness and pride will be replaced with a dependence on God and He will begin to transform us into men and women who reflect His image. We will bear fruit that lasts and we will bring honor and glory to Jesus, our faithful and gracious Lord and King.
“Heavenly Father, you are so good and faithful and patient with us. You know our struggle with pride and how we’re prone to try to do things in our own strength. Thank you for allowing the thorns of life which reveal our weaknesses and teach us to rely on your infinite strength rather than our own. Thank you for your grace which is sufficient for our every need. We love you Lord and it’s in the Name of Jesus we pray. Amen!”