Thorns and Grace
Thorns
2 Corinthians 12. This chapter is the climax of Paul's defense of his apostleship and his love for the Corinthians. He was hesitant to write about these personal experiences, but there was no other way to solve the problem. These Corinthians, who kept doubting his apostleship and attacking his character, had backed him into a corner. So Paul reluctantly told them of this heavenly experience he had, and in fact was so restrained that he described it in the third person rather than the first person (12:1-6).
Following his heavenly excursion, a messenger from Satan was sent to keep Paul humble. Think about that. What was the one reason Satan was cast from heaven? Pride. Yet here God used the very pride of Satan to work humility in Paul (12:7). Now what was the thorn in the flesh? Some have suggested it was an eye disease, malaria, an irritating person who followed him around, or a group of people (like the Jews) that followed him around always persecuting him. We don't know for sure what it was. But it is a good thing we don't know, because no matter what our sufferings may be, we are able to apply the lessons Paul learned and get encouragement. If Paul had spelled out what this thorn was, say eye disease, then we would only apply this passage to our lives if we had eye trouble. But since we don't know, we can all apply it to whatever thorns we have in our lives. Your thorn is different from my thorn. And my thorn is different than Paul's thorn. But the lessons gleaned apply to us all. Thank God he left this thorn unnamed.
Grace
Then comes the lesson (12:8-10). Like Paul, we ask for help from the Lord. However, as far as the Lord is concerned, the purpose of prayer is not that He might give help to us, but that He might give HIMSELF to us. The Father says, "You want Me to take away the pain, to solve the problem, to get you out of the situation--but that's not what you need. You need Me. And the very problem you're seeking to get away from is the very one that is causing you to talk to Me, spend time with Me, and depend on Me. You'll be stronger when you're weak because you'll have no other choice than to draw strength from Me. You'll do better when you're weak because you'll have to rely on Me." Bottom Line: You're praying, 'God get me out of this mess" and God is saying, "No, I'm trying to come into your mess so I can walk with you through it." The lesson is very simple but one we'd rather not hear: "Keep the the thorn. Take My grace, for My grace is greater than the thorn." Instead of removing the problem, God gives us Himself and His all sufficient grace to overcome and walk through the problem. Always remember this: If God's grace is sufficient to save us, surely it is sufficient to keep us and strengthen us in our times of suffering. AMEN!
2 Corinthians 12. This chapter is the climax of Paul's defense of his apostleship and his love for the Corinthians. He was hesitant to write about these personal experiences, but there was no other way to solve the problem. These Corinthians, who kept doubting his apostleship and attacking his character, had backed him into a corner. So Paul reluctantly told them of this heavenly experience he had, and in fact was so restrained that he described it in the third person rather than the first person (12:1-6).
Following his heavenly excursion, a messenger from Satan was sent to keep Paul humble. Think about that. What was the one reason Satan was cast from heaven? Pride. Yet here God used the very pride of Satan to work humility in Paul (12:7). Now what was the thorn in the flesh? Some have suggested it was an eye disease, malaria, an irritating person who followed him around, or a group of people (like the Jews) that followed him around always persecuting him. We don't know for sure what it was. But it is a good thing we don't know, because no matter what our sufferings may be, we are able to apply the lessons Paul learned and get encouragement. If Paul had spelled out what this thorn was, say eye disease, then we would only apply this passage to our lives if we had eye trouble. But since we don't know, we can all apply it to whatever thorns we have in our lives. Your thorn is different from my thorn. And my thorn is different than Paul's thorn. But the lessons gleaned apply to us all. Thank God he left this thorn unnamed.
Grace
Then comes the lesson (12:8-10). Like Paul, we ask for help from the Lord. However, as far as the Lord is concerned, the purpose of prayer is not that He might give help to us, but that He might give HIMSELF to us. The Father says, "You want Me to take away the pain, to solve the problem, to get you out of the situation--but that's not what you need. You need Me. And the very problem you're seeking to get away from is the very one that is causing you to talk to Me, spend time with Me, and depend on Me. You'll be stronger when you're weak because you'll have no other choice than to draw strength from Me. You'll do better when you're weak because you'll have to rely on Me." Bottom Line: You're praying, 'God get me out of this mess" and God is saying, "No, I'm trying to come into your mess so I can walk with you through it." The lesson is very simple but one we'd rather not hear: "Keep the the thorn. Take My grace, for My grace is greater than the thorn." Instead of removing the problem, God gives us Himself and His all sufficient grace to overcome and walk through the problem. Always remember this: If God's grace is sufficient to save us, surely it is sufficient to keep us and strengthen us in our times of suffering. AMEN!
posted by Royce Hendry at
6:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home