His Strength in My Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,[a] a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God has lately given me a burden in my heart on a theme, so-called, “the Will of God.” I am sure it is one of the popular topics for many Christians but even right there I see a problem with it. What were you thinking when I said the will of God? I hope to address it during this sermon series. 

Before I dive into this topic of “God’s Will,” I have a more fundamental question that I struggle with these days. Is Christianity for God or for us? Is Christianity to please and glorify God or to bless us and to get a help when I need it? I know those questions are not to be taken as if to be happy is something tabooed in Christian life. But I am sure you know what I am trying to say. Christianity has, if I may put it in a very crude way, become a religion that sells the so-called blessings and answers from God just like any other religions out there promising to do the same. Do you see that yourself? I hope we share the perspective here.

I wonder whether we fail to read the Bible in the way God is addressing it to us. If you believe that there is the will of God, what is it that God is trying to teach us throughout the Bible? Or, are we reading it in a way that it blesses us so that we are exempted from the hardships and pains of life?

I come to today’s passage particularly heavy-laden and relate to the apostle Paul in his experiences of highs and lows. 

As we are familiar with Paul, Paul was an apostle who served the Lord on a grand scale among all the apostles. His story in the Bible began as a persecutor of the church. However, his encounter with the Lord on his way to Damascus was, simply, spectacular. He wrote 13 epistles in the New Testament Bible. He was even caught up to the third heaven and on many occasions received the revelations from the Lord. Can anyone top that experience of Paul? Wouldn’t you envy him? Wouldn’t you wish that you experience the heaven even if it is not the third level?

However, his life was not that enviable when you remember the “thorn” in his flesh. There are many educated guesses with regard to the nature of that “thorn,” whether it is a chronic eye problem, malaria, migraines, epilepsy, and even a speech disability. We do not have an exact nature of the “thorn.” He even says that it is either from or by a “messenger of Satan.”  Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job, God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose. 

Paul seems to be well aware why God does not grant his wishes even if he prayed three times to remove the thorn from him. I am certain his “three times” of prayer was a very serious and sincere kind. But God did not answer his prayers. Taking into consideration how Paul was in service to God, to remove the thorn for him is, in our view, not even a challenge for God. We tend to think God is more than ready to get rid of it for Paul.

Paul probably had good reasons why he should be pain-free: he could have a more effective ministry; he could reach more people with the gospel; he could glorify God even more! No one likes to live in pain. But the Lord was teaching Paul to not be puffed up or too proud. Paul the servant of the Lord is kindly reminded that God’s grace is sufficient for him; God’s power is made perfect in his weakness. What does that mean? How is God’s strength manifested through Paul’s weakness? However, Paul praises God for that. His illness and pain do not top God in his life. He is keen in his perspective that God is glorified for who he is before he is praised for what he does for him.

What about you? How would you read today’s passage? You could either focus on Paul who was even caught up to heaven or on God who manifests His almighty power even through the frailty of man. What would be your reading?

Maybe you can relate to Paul in your own way. Do you consider yourself much blessed by God? You have a beautiful family; you have lovely children that don’t cause any trouble to you; You have a stable job that you enjoy; your health is in a good shape. Just as the thorn does not seem to go with Paul for what he is, it would only make sense that your life should be as perfect as it can be. The thorn is not for you. Right?

However, as we all know very well, something goes wrong when you least expected it. You are hurt and sometimes devastated by it. What hurts you more than anything is the fact that it is happening to you. Your life was nearly perfect as it can be just moments ago but not anymore. You are so fixated upon your own problem, and it seems that you are the most unfortunate person in the world. And you believe it deserves an immediate attention by God because you have been good to God all along and because you will serve God even better once the problem goes away. 

This is how everybody thinks. Your problems become the center of the world that God should do something about them immediately. Yes, you got the point. God becomes God when he takes care of you not necessarily for who he is. 

In Paul’s case God’s will was to have his power made perfect despite his weakness. His will for Paul was that Paul would be able to fix his eyes upon the almighty God rather than blinded by his own problem. God’s grace is sufficient for Paul despite his weakness.

The same way for you! Sometimes God’s will is not to get rid of the problem for you simply because you prayed as such but to manifest who he is in the midst of your hardship. Sometimes God manifests the greatness of himself despite your own sins and short-comings. Sometimes God does not answer your prayers even if you pray. The truth is that he answered you in his wise ways rather than yours. God’s will is for you to fix your eyes upon him alone undivided rather than on your own problems. 

It is utterly possible for anyone to sin in a way that totally catches everybody off guard. You don’t know who you are until you are thrown in a situation that is perhaps most devastating to you. You may not be you that you know thus far. No one can be so sure of themselves unless God’s grace sustains them in all circumstances.

What is God’s will for you? It is to see how his almighty power is present in your life all the time. Do you praise God for who he is or for what he has to do for you? Of course, what he does is a way of manifesting who he is, to be theologically correct. This is the will of God that the Bible teaches throughout. God wants you to know that he is God Almighty who created the heavens and earth. He also created and placed you and me in unique places of history. God has also built this church in his wise way so that he manifests who he is rather than what he is. 

Would you confess with Paul that God’s grace is sufficient for you? Do you see God for who he truly is? Do you believe that God is bigger than your problems? You may still have the problems with you. But do not be distracted by them. Do not be blinded by what you see in your life. Fix your eyes upon God alone and say together with Paul that God is enough for you.