This is a promise from God- presented in this article- that we can embrace: “God’s grace allows me to face anything life throws at me.” God’s grace is always there but we become more acutely aware of it in our time of need. Our lives are filled with both joys and sorrows- sometimes the sorrows overwhelm us. Opportunities we embrace and difficulties we’d rather avoid can often come without warning. We don’t question God’s presence in the good times, although we might when life gets hard. God is with us through it all: good and bad. We are no less in God’s hands or useful as His instrument when we face challenges. It is often when we are at the end our rope that we are in a position to understand and experience God’s grace. God’s grace is always with us.
Read 2 Corinthians 12:2-7a
Verse 1 (not read) tells of Paul’s boasting that extended to spiritual experience. The Corinthians may have felt that a spiritual leader should be able to point to unusual visions and mystical experience as qualifications. The false apostles may have claimed such experience themselves. In any case, Paul let them know that he had experienced such a vision but he made it clear that this was not the key to his effectiveness as a minister. He referred to himself simply as “a man in Christ” to soften the element of boasting and to show how different the experience was from his usual experience. The incident had occurred fourteen years before, around AD 41. Paul had probably been a Christian for about seven years at the time. It must have been a crucial point in his life.
Paul continued his “boasting” by telling about visions and revelations he had received from the Lord (vv.2-3). Paul explained that he didn’t know if he was taken up in his body or in his spirit but he had been in paradise (“The Third Heaven”, perhaps referring to the highest part of heaven, beyond the atmosphere and the stars, where God Himself lives). This incident cannot be positively identified with a recorded event in Paul’s career, although some think this may have been when he was stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19-20). Paul told about that he had been uniquely touched by God.
Paul was very reserved about the details of his experience. This was in line with the whole emphasis of the Bible, which avoids giving a lot of details about heaven and the spiritual order. He continued to speak of his experience as though it had happened to someone else. Concerning himself, he would only speak of his weaknesses, for it was there that he felt the real point of his ministry was to be found. He would not carry his boasting game to the point of boasting about his private spiritual experience in his life. He also knew that he was called to preach Christ and speak on visions. Paul wanted the Corinthian believers to respect and follow his teachings and guidance because of what they had seen in his life- not to confuse him as a false teacher due to any “extraordinary revelations”.
Read 2 Corinthians 12:7b-8
There was a danger that such subline spiritual experience would go to Paul’s head. But God was at work om Paul’s life to prevent that. He was given a “thorn in the flesh” which served as “a messenger of Satan” to prevent any unreal spiritual elation. We do not know the exact nature of this thorn. Some speculate that it may have been metal and spiritual anguish arising from his hardships or his grief over having persecuted the church in the past. They point to the fact that the words could be translated “for the flesh”, and Paul uses flesh for human nature in general. But most interpreters take the phrase more naturally and literally and conclude Paul meant a physical ailment. The guesses include epilepsy, malaria (because it was common in the regions where he traveled), and eye trouble (because Paul wrote with large letters in Galatians 6:11). Whatever the thorn was, the lesson Paul learned is clear. He asked God to remove it, but God did not. He wanted Paul to depend on His grace, not on Paul’s own strength. He could affirm his disabilities because they were channels of God’s power.
Three times Paul prayed for healing and did not receive it. He received, however, things far greater because he received greater grace from God: a stronger character, humility, and an ability to empathize with others. In addition, it benefited those around him as they saw God at work in his life. God, according to his sovereign plan, doesn’t heal some believers of their physical ailments. We don’t know why some are spared and others are not. God choses according to His divine purposes. Our task is to pray, to believe, and to trust. Paul is living proof that holy living and courageous faith do not ensure instant physical healing. When we pray for healing, we must trust our bodies to God’s care. We must recognize that nothing separates us from His love (Romans 8:35-39) and that our spiritual condition is always more important than our physical condition.
Think about what has helped you discover that God’s grace is sufficient for you to endure anything!
Read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Although God did not remove Paul’s affliction, He promised to demonstrate His power in Paul. The fact that God’s power is displayed in the times of our weaknesses should give us courage and hope. As we recognize our limitations, we will depend more on God for our effectiveness rather than on our energy, effort, or talent. Our limitations not only help develop Christian character but also deepen our worship, because in admitting them, we affirm God’s strength.
When we are strong in abilities or resources, we are tempted to do God’s work on our own, and that can lead to pride. When we are weak, allowing God to fill us with His power, then we are stronger than we could ever be on our own. God does not intend for us to be weak, passive, or ineffective- life provides enough hindrances and setbacks without us creating them. When those obstacles come we must depend on God. Only His power will make us effective for Him and will help us do work that has lasting value.
Only when we lean on God in the difficult times, listen for his voice, and allow His grace to work through our weakness can we experience Him on a deeper level and bring glory to Him as He works in and through us. Grace from God is a gift we don’t deserve but God gives it no matter.