Daily 1 Corinthians 12
2 Corinthians 12
Paul's Vision and His Thorn
1I 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.
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.
Observation:
This is one of the most famous chapters that Paul has written. In it, he describes a “thorn in the flesh”, which kept him from becoming too conceited. Even though Paul had many incredible spiritual experiences, he still struggled with his flesh and keeping it obedient to Christ. Many have tried to speculate on just what this “thorn” was. Some think it was a physical ailment. Others think it was a particular sin that troubled him. Or, that it wasn’t some physical challenge that kept him humbled.
Whatever the case may be, maybe it is good that he didn’t name what it was. Thus, maybe each of us can relate to this “thorn in the flesh”. Paul dispels the notion that once someone becomes a Christian that life is easy and not full of struggles that war within us. He also shows us that just because someone has an ecstatic spiritual experience does not mean that you still don’t have to come back to earth and live out your faith one day, one trial at a time.
Importantly Paul learns that in his weakness, he can discover a new aspect of God’s grace that can be sufficient for the moment. Paul learns that sometimes he is strongest in these challenging moments, just because he has to rely all the more on God and not himself. Therefore once again as he is being challenged by some in the Corinthian church to try and prove himself, he instead points to God’s grace as being the best evidence for God working in him, even in weakness.
Application:
Do you have a thorn in the flesh? Have you pleaded with God to take some challenge/weakness out of your life? If you are like me, sometimes I wonder why God wouldn’t relieve me of this issue in my life so I could be so much more effective for him. Of course there are certainly things God does deliver us from, so we can be more fruitful in our ministry for Him. And yet, sometimes God allows us to suffer some of the same things Paul did, to more fully help us to understand His all sufficient grace.
You see if we could do everything on our own strength and personality, we might be tempted to believe we were the reason for results that only God can produce. Like changing a human life from one bent on destruction, to one headed toward the glory of God for all eternity. Are we so foolish to think that we can change a human heart? In this sense, we can give thanks for our trials because they make us more mature and complete and lacking in nothing. Even Jesus was made perfect in His sufferings, so He could become the perfect high priest who will intercede for us in our darkest hours.
Prayer: God we thank you for our strengths and our gifts, but we also thank you for our weaknesses for they lead us to rely solely on Your grace, which is given to us through Your Son. When we feel weak, help us to reach out for Your strong, unfailing hand that we might walk us through the valleys in our lives trusting that your mercy and grace are sufficient for us in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Paul's Vision and His Thorn
1I 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.
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.
Observation:
This is one of the most famous chapters that Paul has written. In it, he describes a “thorn in the flesh”, which kept him from becoming too conceited. Even though Paul had many incredible spiritual experiences, he still struggled with his flesh and keeping it obedient to Christ. Many have tried to speculate on just what this “thorn” was. Some think it was a physical ailment. Others think it was a particular sin that troubled him. Or, that it wasn’t some physical challenge that kept him humbled.
Whatever the case may be, maybe it is good that he didn’t name what it was. Thus, maybe each of us can relate to this “thorn in the flesh”. Paul dispels the notion that once someone becomes a Christian that life is easy and not full of struggles that war within us. He also shows us that just because someone has an ecstatic spiritual experience does not mean that you still don’t have to come back to earth and live out your faith one day, one trial at a time.
Importantly Paul learns that in his weakness, he can discover a new aspect of God’s grace that can be sufficient for the moment. Paul learns that sometimes he is strongest in these challenging moments, just because he has to rely all the more on God and not himself. Therefore once again as he is being challenged by some in the Corinthian church to try and prove himself, he instead points to God’s grace as being the best evidence for God working in him, even in weakness.
Application:
Do you have a thorn in the flesh? Have you pleaded with God to take some challenge/weakness out of your life? If you are like me, sometimes I wonder why God wouldn’t relieve me of this issue in my life so I could be so much more effective for him. Of course there are certainly things God does deliver us from, so we can be more fruitful in our ministry for Him. And yet, sometimes God allows us to suffer some of the same things Paul did, to more fully help us to understand His all sufficient grace.
You see if we could do everything on our own strength and personality, we might be tempted to believe we were the reason for results that only God can produce. Like changing a human life from one bent on destruction, to one headed toward the glory of God for all eternity. Are we so foolish to think that we can change a human heart? In this sense, we can give thanks for our trials because they make us more mature and complete and lacking in nothing. Even Jesus was made perfect in His sufferings, so He could become the perfect high priest who will intercede for us in our darkest hours.
Prayer: God we thank you for our strengths and our gifts, but we also thank you for our weaknesses for they lead us to rely solely on Your grace, which is given to us through Your Son. When we feel weak, help us to reach out for Your strong, unfailing hand that we might walk us through the valleys in our lives trusting that your mercy and grace are sufficient for us in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
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