Post by Cindy on Aug 12, 2016 6:25:31 GMT -5
God wants to use your suffering. Paul sees that his suffering—his thorn in the flesh—serves a good purpose. God is using it to keep him humble, to protect him from exalting himself. When you turn to God in your weakness, things start to happen that you would have once thought were impossible—things such as learning deep contentment and living with a profound sense of purpose. You will speak of your weakness as the place God most richly reveals himself to you. For example, fatigue forces you to wrestle with how your life still counts even when what you do, how much you do, and how often you can do it are greatly reduced. God is more interested in who you are in Christ than in what you do for him. God wants you to grow to be like him. He wants your character to resemble his character. Your “thorn” is the context he is using to make his character shine through your life. God wants to use your suffering to teach you his patience, endurance, perseverance, and longsuffering (Romans 12:12; 1 Corinthians 13:4; Ephesians 4:2).
“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. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. 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.” (2 Corinthians 12:7–10)
Heart of the matter: Daily reflections for changing hearts and lives.
“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. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. 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.” (2 Corinthians 12:7–10)
Heart of the matter: Daily reflections for changing hearts and lives.
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