The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 12:7b-10,
"… 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."
Paul talks here of struggles he experienced in his life as an apostle: weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties.
We have struggles as well. We all do. Paul had pleaded to the Lord to remove some specific difficulty he faced. It is the Lord's response to him that captures my attention this morning, what he says about his grace.
When Paul sought the Lord to relieve him of what he struggled with, (Paul describes it as a torment), the Lord's response was that his grace was sufficient. Paul would have to live with the difficulties he faced. The Lord's grace would enable him to do that.
Often, over years, I have sought the Lord's help with the challenging issues, situations or conflicts I have faced, probably most of which have been similar to what we all face from time to time. The Lord has invited us to bring these to him. I often would have defined the resolution or removal of these difficulties from my life as a testimony to the Lord's grace. However, I don't recall too many (if any) of these being miraculously or supernaturally removed from my life.
The Lord told Paul he would provide him sufficient grace in the midst of his difficulties, not the removal of them.
A lesson I have learned is that the Lord's grace does not necessarily express itself in the removal of challenges, but the help, support, encouragement and strength to see us through them. In his love for us, he does not remove from us the opportunities to learn to place our confidence in him, he does not remove the context in which his strength can be put on display.
Paul's weakness was a canvas on which the Lord displayed his very strength, and so he continues to do so within us today.
Paul talks here of struggles he experienced in his life as an apostle: weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties.
We have struggles as well. We all do. Paul had pleaded to the Lord to remove some specific difficulty he faced. It is the Lord's response to him that captures my attention this morning, what he says about his grace.
When Paul sought the Lord to relieve him of what he struggled with, (Paul describes it as a torment), the Lord's response was that his grace was sufficient. Paul would have to live with the difficulties he faced. The Lord's grace would enable him to do that.
Often, over years, I have sought the Lord's help with the challenging issues, situations or conflicts I have faced, probably most of which have been similar to what we all face from time to time. The Lord has invited us to bring these to him. I often would have defined the resolution or removal of these difficulties from my life as a testimony to the Lord's grace. However, I don't recall too many (if any) of these being miraculously or supernaturally removed from my life.
The Lord told Paul he would provide him sufficient grace in the midst of his difficulties, not the removal of them.
A lesson I have learned is that the Lord's grace does not necessarily express itself in the removal of challenges, but the help, support, encouragement and strength to see us through them. In his love for us, he does not remove from us the opportunities to learn to place our confidence in him, he does not remove the context in which his strength can be put on display.
Paul's weakness was a canvas on which the Lord displayed his very strength, and so he continues to do so within us today.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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