There is a passage in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church where he talks about what he called his “thorn in the flesh.” There’s a powerful lesson for us about grace in what he shared.
Listen to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 …
… to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NLT) We are never told what Paul’s thorn is. Probably so we can easily apply this truth to whatever issue plagues our own lives.
Paul said that he asked God three times to take it away and God repeated the same phrase each time. And what did God tell Paul he needed? Grace. Why? So God’s strong power could be shown in Paul’s weakness. And there is no denying that happened as we read his letters to the churches.
Listen once again to part of today’s passage in The Message Bible … I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.
What is your thorn? What creates limitations in you? What have you begged God to get rid of?
How can you apply God’s answer to your life: “My grace is enough. It’s all you need.”?
How can you take your attention off the problem and put it on Christ?
Let’s pray together: “Father, this is a tough one. I need Your help to accept those things in my life that You choose for me to surrender to You and trust in Your grace to carry me. As above, so below.”