November, 2003

“‘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” II Cor. 12:9

Have you ever had the experience of God being so distant when you needed Him most? You prayed, but wondered whether God cared to listen or maybe He was too busy attending other “more important” businesses. As for the Apostle Paul, he had a “thorn in his flesh” that he wanted God to remove. He was able to identify that it came from Satan, not God, to cause pain, discomfort, and inconvenience. He labeled it as a “weakness,” which indicated that to him, his ministries would be much more effective without the “thorn.”

Much was speculated about his “thorn.” They ranged from incessant temptation, zealous opponents, and chronic physical handicap, such as poor eyesight, migraine headache, or epilepsy. No one can say for sure what it was. But in the final analysis, it didn’t really matter what it was because God decided to let him go through his entire life with the “thorn” sticking out.

I can only imagine that he must have been troubled in the beginning by the way God answered his prayers or maybe not answered his request to remove this annoying “thorn in my flesh.” Many people said that it was good for Paul that God didn’t remove his thorn, because he received something far better—God’s Grace! My comment is, “It is easy for them to say!” They don’t have what he had. If you ask me, I would rather receive God’s grace to remove the thorn than not! It took a tremendous amount of submission and faith for Paul to finally accept God’s answer. For us to develop a sense of complete trust in God and rest easy on His power in us and through us is a paradigm shift. 

What can we learn from this experience of Paul? First, as many of you are getting involved in God’s ministries, remember you don’t need to be perfect; you only need to have a positive attitude of submission, because in your imperfection, God will make it work. Second, focus on the power of God, not your weakness or strength, for that matter. It is the power of God through your effort that we will see the splendid of God’s plan. Third, whenever you feel inadequate, remember God’s grace is sufficient, which in its original meaning has the meaning of “adequate in the sense of providing contentment.”

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