Daily Bread 2011 - 2 Corinthians 12
Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 12
7 To 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. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 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.
What Does This Mean?
This is Paul’s famous “thorn in the flesh” passage. While no one has ever really given a plausible answer as to what his particular thorn was, the passage still has lot of relevance for us today. Paul’s thorn was obviously something he wasn’t proud of, and he had even pleaded with God to take it away from him. Yet, God allowed this trial/weakness in Paul’s life to continue to remind Him that it is by grace we are saved.
As Paul processes what this means for him, he concludes, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. For when I am weak I am strong.” While this seems paradoxical, it is a good reminder that we all will encounter areas in our lives, which will challenge us and make us more reliant on God. Maybe it is a character defect, or physical or emotional struggle. I am personally glad we don’t know what Paul’s thorn was, so that we can all fill in the blank with our own.
What Does This Mean For Us?
What I don’t think it means is that we can just give in to sin, or a particular pattern of sinful behavior and say, “See that is my thorn in the flesh that God gave me to show me His grace”. What I mean by this is that we can’t reason and take advantage of God’s grace by the notion of, “I will sin all the more so God’s grace will abound.” Paul addresses that notion in the book of Romans and exclaims, “May it never be!” (Romans 6:1)
What I do think Paul is saying is that we will all struggle to overcome our own weaknesses and failures, even if they are recurring. We may have areas of our life where we won’t see total victory until we are called home. And yet, in the midst of things that seem out of our control, as we rely on God’s grace which is sufficient for us in Christ Jesus, even in our weakness we can be strong. Do you have an area that God seems to have allowed in your life to make this principle clear? If yes, thank God that is grace is sufficient for you in this area, even if you don’t totally understand why it is this way.
Gracious God, we thank you for your abundant power, which is sometimes made even more clear in our weaknesses than our strengths. Give us Your grace to accept this in times where we feel like throwing in the towel. Jesus thank you for your all sufficient grace, Amen.
7 To 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. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 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.
What Does This Mean?
This is Paul’s famous “thorn in the flesh” passage. While no one has ever really given a plausible answer as to what his particular thorn was, the passage still has lot of relevance for us today. Paul’s thorn was obviously something he wasn’t proud of, and he had even pleaded with God to take it away from him. Yet, God allowed this trial/weakness in Paul’s life to continue to remind Him that it is by grace we are saved.
As Paul processes what this means for him, he concludes, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. For when I am weak I am strong.” While this seems paradoxical, it is a good reminder that we all will encounter areas in our lives, which will challenge us and make us more reliant on God. Maybe it is a character defect, or physical or emotional struggle. I am personally glad we don’t know what Paul’s thorn was, so that we can all fill in the blank with our own.
What Does This Mean For Us?
What I don’t think it means is that we can just give in to sin, or a particular pattern of sinful behavior and say, “See that is my thorn in the flesh that God gave me to show me His grace”. What I mean by this is that we can’t reason and take advantage of God’s grace by the notion of, “I will sin all the more so God’s grace will abound.” Paul addresses that notion in the book of Romans and exclaims, “May it never be!” (Romans 6:1)
What I do think Paul is saying is that we will all struggle to overcome our own weaknesses and failures, even if they are recurring. We may have areas of our life where we won’t see total victory until we are called home. And yet, in the midst of things that seem out of our control, as we rely on God’s grace which is sufficient for us in Christ Jesus, even in our weakness we can be strong. Do you have an area that God seems to have allowed in your life to make this principle clear? If yes, thank God that is grace is sufficient for you in this area, even if you don’t totally understand why it is this way.
Gracious God, we thank you for your abundant power, which is sometimes made even more clear in our weaknesses than our strengths. Give us Your grace to accept this in times where we feel like throwing in the towel. Jesus thank you for your all sufficient grace, Amen.
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