December 1st
Today's Bible Reading
Sufficient Grace
2 Corinthians 12:9
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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
We all struggle. We are all weak. We all cry out to the Lord for help. Regardless of the difficulty we face, we want deliverance. Yet there are times that our problem persists. There are seasons when our suffering stays. We may not understand God’s plan in its persistence and like Paul, we seek understanding.
Paul had been praying for the removal of his affliction, his “thorn in the flesh” (v7). We are uncertain of the nature of His condition. But what we do know is that it tormented or harassed him. Further, he identifies his ailment as a “messenger of Satan.” We are also aware that Paul understands that the Lord had placed it there to keep him “from becoming conceited” or to keep him humble.
In one sense Paul wanted the Lord to remove this “weakness”, but in another sense he understood that if God let it remain it would keep him humble and reliant upon the Lord. But still he prayed “three” times that the Lord would remove it (v 8). It is not wrong to pray for the removal of our problems. We are not always privy to God’s plan and purpose in our pain. We are often uncertain of the outcome, so we, like Paul, must cry out to the Lord who knows what will happen to help us comprehend our crisis. And like in Paul’s case, the Lord will answer in His time, even if we have to keep pleading with Him until we hear from Him.
God will answer. Our text tells us God’s response to Paul. God says no to Paul’s request. Although his faithful servant pleaded for relief from his anguish his request was denied. Paul’s plea was rejected because it was not in accordance with God’s perfect plan for him. This is a good lesson for us. We may really desire God to remove our pain and suffering or the affliction of our loved one, and sometimes He does, but at other time God doesn’t. But in His denial of our desire we can either despair or see His design in refusing our request. Many don’t understand that God has a purpose in allowing us to suffer. We may not fully understand His purpose in it, but like Paul, we can “boast all the more gladly” that God is in control of our calamity.
God clearly communicated with Paul why his “thorn” would remain. What the Lord said to him can give us clarity and comfort in our crisis. First, God replies, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Grace is God’s unmerited favor to us, but it can also be his abundant aid and assistance for our aliment. Here the Lord is declaring to Paul and to us that He is not oblivious to our suffering, but is fully engaged in sustaining us through our affliction. As the Lord shut the mouths of the lions in Daniel’s den, walked with the three Israelites in the fiery furnace, and manifest His grace to Paul in all His previous trails and tribulation, He will be with us though our suffering. That should be enough for us. The sufficiency of our Savior in our suffering should sustain us and strengthen us throughout our struggle .
But second God remarks, “for my power is made perfect in weakness”. It is when we are weak that He is strong. It is when our stamina subsides that His strength arises. When we are powerless is when we recognize and rely on His power. The perfection of His power is produced in our peril. Only when our power is exhausted can we see and savor the power of our Savior. Paul acknowledges that his weakness led to Christ’s power resting on him. It was not the removal of His “thorn” that activated God’s power, but retaining of it that allowed Him to experience God’s presence and power within His problem. So like Paul, don’t discount God’s “thorn” and if He should not remove it, embrace it “gladly” as His method of displaying His grace and power in your life.
Today thank God that His “grace is sufficient” for your suffering. Praise Him that His “power is made perfect in weakness”. Thank Him that there are times that He allows your suffering to persist in order that the power of Christ can rest upon you. Ask Him to help you trust Him in your trouble and to find Him faithful to walk with you in your worst times of affliction.
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