October 25, 2024

II Corinthians  12.9, 10 (NIV)

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. . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Personal weakness provides a great opportunity for God’s strength to come through.*

Often, we think God is not answering our prayers because we aren’t getting what we asked for. The fact is, God always answers the prayers of his children, but sometimes the answer is “no.” Just look at Paul. If anyone deserves to get what he wants from God, it is the Apostle Paul, God’s faithful, obedient and self-sacrificing servant.

 

And what did he ask for that was so bad? He didn’t ask for riches or vengeance on his enemies or for God to interfere in the space/time continuum. He asked for the removal of a “thorn in my flesh.” We never learn the exact nature of his thorn. Most people assume it involved physical suffering. (I tend to think it might have been some kind of deformity – something to keep him humble when he looked in a mirror. I wonder what that says about me!)

 

It is interesting that, by his own admission, Paul knew why he suffered from this affliction (to keep me from becoming conceited), but he asked to be delivered from it anyway. Perhaps most of us don't have so much to be conceited about, but Paul’s risk was real, because of his visions and revelations from the Lord – things that certainly distinguished him from the rest of the crowd. In refusing to remove Paul’s “thorn,” God also revealed an additional reason for Paul’s adversity: he desired for Paul to learn about the sufficiency of his grace. If things are going too well, even the most faithful of us can forget that we need God.

 

When God says his grace is sufficient, it means so much more than “just enough.” It doesn’t even mean “more than enough.” Sufficient is one of those words like pregnant or unique - you either are or you aren't. There are no degrees of sufficient – God can’t make his grace more or less sufficient. It is enough.

 

Like Paul, we need to learn to rejoice in our afflictions. When it is clear that our personal strength is inadequate, God’s power is revealed and unleashed on our behalf. That, my friends, is real strength! 

God said he was looking for empty vessels more than strong muscles.*